Keitaro Akita1, Takashi Kohno2, Shun Kohsaka2, Yasuyuki Shiraishi2, Yuji Nagatomo3, Ayumi Goda4, Atsushi Mizuno5, Yasumori Sujino6, Keiichi Fukuda2, Tsutomu Yoshikawa7. 1. Division of Cardiology, Internal Medicine III, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine. 2. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine. 3. Department of Cardiology, National Defense Medical College. 4. Department of Cardiology, Kyorin University School of Medicine. 5. Department of Cardiology, St. Lukes International Hospital. 6. Department of Cardiology, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center. 7. Division of Cardiology, Sakakibara Heart Institute.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The natural course of heart failure (HF) is typically associated with repeated hospitalizations, and subsequently, patient prognosis deteriorates. However, the precise relationship between repeated admissions for HF and long-term prognosis remains unknown. Methods and Results: We analyzed data from 1,730 consecutive acute HF patients registered in the West Tokyo Heart Failure (WET-HF) registry between June 2005 and April 2014 (median age, 76 years). Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the number of previous HF admissions at the time of the index admission (0, n=876 [55.4%]; 1, n=425 [26.9%]; ≥2, n=279 [17.7%] previous admissions). A history of multiple previous admissions was an independent predictor for all-cause death and HF readmission in reference to a history of a single previous admission (hazard ratio (HR), 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-2.13; HR, 1.90 95% CI, 1.47-2.44, respectively) or no previous admissions (HR, 1.37, 95% CI, 1.01-1.85; HR, 2.83, 95% CI, 2.19-3.65, respectively). On the other hand, a history of a single previous admission was an independent predictor for HF readmission in reference to a history of no previous admissions (HR, 1.51, 95% CI, 1.18-1.92), but not for all-cause death (HR, 0.89, 95% CI, 0.66-1.20). CONCLUSIONS: Based on a contemporary multicenter HF registry, a history of multiple previous HF admissions was revealed as an independent, strong risk factor of adverse events following the index admission. The number of hospitalizations could be a simple and important surrogate indicating subsequent adverse events in patients with HF.
BACKGROUND: The natural course of heart failure (HF) is typically associated with repeated hospitalizations, and subsequently, patient prognosis deteriorates. However, the precise relationship between repeated admissions for HF and long-term prognosis remains unknown. Methods and Results: We analyzed data from 1,730 consecutive acute HF patients registered in the West Tokyo Heart Failure (WET-HF) registry between June 2005 and April 2014 (median age, 76 years). Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the number of previous HF admissions at the time of the index admission (0, n=876 [55.4%]; 1, n=425 [26.9%]; ≥2, n=279 [17.7%] previous admissions). A history of multiple previous admissions was an independent predictor for all-cause death and HF readmission in reference to a history of a single previous admission (hazard ratio (HR), 1.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-2.13; HR, 1.90 95% CI, 1.47-2.44, respectively) or no previous admissions (HR, 1.37, 95% CI, 1.01-1.85; HR, 2.83, 95% CI, 2.19-3.65, respectively). On the other hand, a history of a single previous admission was an independent predictor for HF readmission in reference to a history of no previous admissions (HR, 1.51, 95% CI, 1.18-1.92), but not for all-cause death (HR, 0.89, 95% CI, 0.66-1.20). CONCLUSIONS: Based on a contemporary multicenter HF registry, a history of multiple previous HF admissions was revealed as an independent, strong risk factor of adverse events following the index admission. The number of hospitalizations could be a simple and important surrogate indicating subsequent adverse events in patients with HF.