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Heart failure in community practice: relationship to age and sex in a beta-blocker registry

Joseph A Franciosa1, Jeanenne J Nelson, Mary Ann Lukas

  • 1Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA. josephafranciosa@aol.com

Congestive Heart Failure (Greenwich, Conn.)
|December 16, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Women and the elderly with heart failure (HF) show increased risk but respond well to carvedilol treatment. This study found over 40% reduction in HF hospitalizations for both groups within one year.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Clinical Research
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Women and the elderly are underrepresented in heart failure (HF) clinical trials.
  • Understanding treatment responses in these demographics is crucial for equitable care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the effectiveness and safety of carvedilol in women and the elderly with HF.
  • To compare outcomes between sexes and across age groups.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of a registry of 4280 community patients initiating carvedilol for HF.
  • Data stratified by sex and age groups.

Main Results:

  • Women were older, had worse functional class, higher left ventricular ejection fraction, and higher blood pressure than men.
  • Both women and the elderly experienced >40% reduction in HF hospitalizations within 1 year.
  • Mortality rates were similar between sexes (7.3% women vs. 9.1% men).
  • Increasing age correlated with higher LVEF, blood pressure, and functional class, but decreased ACE inhibitor use and carvedilol doses.

Conclusions:

  • Despite higher baseline risk factors, women and the elderly with HF respond favorably to carvedilol.
  • Carvedilol initiation leads to significant reductions in HF hospitalizations across all analyzed groups.
  • Further research should focus on optimizing HF treatment for underrepresented populations.

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