Our piece of heaven: what are hospitalized heart failure patients like in University Hospital Centre Rijeka

    Authors

    Keywords

    heart failure, epidemiology, left ventricular ejection fraction

    DOI

    https://doi.org/10.15836/ccar2018.377

    Full Text

    Aim : Present heart failure (HF) patients hospitalized during the period of one year in University Hospital Centre Rijeka, describe their characteristics and hospital outcome according to left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) with emphasis placed on heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and compare our results with literature data ( 1 ). Patients and Methods : Retrospective, observational study was conducted with a total of 375 subjects. All patients hospitalized for heart failure were included, same sample we introduced to European Society of Cardiology HF Register, except those presented with cardiogenic shock or acute coronary syndrome. Patients were classified in three groups according to their left ventricular ejection fraction (EF ≤40%, EF 40-49%, EF ≥50%) measured using echocardiography. Results : In comparison with HFpEF (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) subjects, patients with HFrEF (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction) were younger (73 vs. 78 years, p<0.01), more commonly male (64% vs 34%, p<0.01) with left bundle branch block (32% vs. 7%, p<0.01) and higher prevalence of ischemic HF etiology (52% vs. 22%, p<0.01). HRpEF patients had hypertension (3% vs 14%) more often as a confirmed cause of HF. As expected, atrial fibrillation was significantly more common in HFpEF group (41% vs. 65%, p<0.01). The HFmrEF category resembled the HFpEF population regarding age, gender, body mass index and atrial fibrillation frequency. The average length of hospitalization (8 days) and the intrahospital mortality (6%) did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusion : Despite possible differences between HFmrEF and the other two investigated HF categories, our HFmrEF population predominantly resembled HFpEF group. Unlike HFrEF group characteristics and its management, the other two heart failure categories are globally not sufficiently defined. Hence their future research is of special importance for development of evidence-based medical practice.

    Cardiologia Croatica
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    Our piece of heaven: what are hospitalized heart failure patients like in University Hospital Centre Rijeka

    Extended Abstract
    Issue11-12
    Published
    Pages377
    PDF via DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15836/ccar2018.377
    heart failure
    epidemiology
    left ventricular ejection fraction

    Authors

    Lea SkorupORCIDCroatia
    Ivana Grgić RomićORCIDCroatia
    Nikolina JurjevićORCIDCroatia
    Valentina ObadićORCIDCroatia
    Ana ValkovićORCIDCroatia
    Mihaela PaušićORCIDCroatia
    Alen RužićORCIDCroatia
    Teodora Zaninović Jurjević*ORCIDCroatia
    Luka ZaputovićORCIDCroatia

    Full Text

    Aim : Present heart failure (HF) patients hospitalized during the period of one year in University Hospital Centre Rijeka, describe their characteristics and hospital outcome according to left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) with emphasis placed on heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and compare our results with literature data ( 1 ). Patients and Methods : Retrospective, observational study was conducted with a total of 375 subjects. All patients hospitalized for heart failure were included, same sample we introduced to European Society of Cardiology HF Register, except those presented with cardiogenic shock or acute coronary syndrome. Patients were classified in three groups according to their left ventricular ejection fraction (EF ≤40%, EF 40-49%, EF ≥50%) measured using echocardiography. Results : In comparison with HFpEF (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction) subjects, patients with HFrEF (heart failure with reduced ejection fraction) were younger (73 vs. 78 years, p<0.01), more commonly male (64% vs 34%, p<0.01) with left bundle branch block (32% vs. 7%, p<0.01) and higher prevalence of ischemic HF etiology (52% vs. 22%, p<0.01). HRpEF patients had hypertension (3% vs 14%) more often as a confirmed cause of HF. As expected, atrial fibrillation was significantly more common in HFpEF group (41% vs. 65%, p<0.01). The HFmrEF category resembled the HFpEF population regarding age, gender, body mass index and atrial fibrillation frequency. The average length of hospitalization (8 days) and the intrahospital mortality (6%) did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusion : Despite possible differences between HFmrEF and the other two investigated HF categories, our HFmrEF population predominantly resembled HFpEF group. Unlike HFrEF group characteristics and its management, the other two heart failure categories are globally not sufficiently defined. Hence their future research is of special importance for development of evidence-based medical practice.