Authors
- Mario Udovičić — University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0001-9912-2179
- Sandra Jakšić Jurinjak — University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0002-7349-6137
- Vanja Ivanović Mihajlović — University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0001-6931-5404
- Hrvoje Falak — University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0002-6502-683X
- Boris Starčević — University Hospital Dubrava, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0002-3090-2772
Keywords
heart failure, epidemiology, hospitalizations
DOI
https://doi.org/10.15836/ccar2018.376Full Text
Introduction: Heart failure (HF) hospitalization rates are decreasing in Western Europe, but little is known about trends in Central European countries. ( 1 ) In this study we analyzed the hospitalizations due to heart failure in University Hospital Dubrava (UHD). Methods and Results: The hospital information system of UHD was searched for primary HF hospitalizations of the patients aged ≥20 years from the local hospital catchment area assigned to UHD for the time period between 2007 and 2016. A total of 4428 primary HF hospitalizations in 3376 patients (median age 75 years, 52.0% male) was recorded. The most common co-morbidities were arterial hypertension (52.0%), atrial fibrillation (45.3%), ischemic heart disease (46.9%) and diabetes mellitus (18.9%). HF hospitalization rates increased significantly from 2007 to 2016. In 2007 main hospitalization rate was 130.7 per 100,000, while in 2016 it was 150.5 per 100,000. This is a relative increase of 15% (p=0.023). In the same time, the in-hospital mortality decreased insignificantly (p=0.718) from 11.7% to 10.6%. After a first HF hospitalization, any HF readmission rates within 30, 60, and 90 days and at 1 year were 5.6%, 9.5%, 12.0%, and 21.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Despite improvements in management, HF remains a major challenge associated with a significant mortality and readmission rates.