[Renal function in patients with heart failure: prognostic value]

Impaired renal function can lead to a poor prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF). This study analyses the prevalence and prognostic value of impaired renal function in a cohort of patients with HF.

We analysed patients who were included in the RICA study (multicentre, prospective cohort study) who were admitted for decompensated HF in 52 Spanish Internal Medicine Departments between March 2008 and September 2009. The patients were grouped according to their renal function, evaluated by eGF, using the MDRD formula.

A total of 714 patients (54% women) with a mean age of 77.3+8.7 years were included. Of these, 84% had hypertension, and hypertensive heart disease was the most common aetiology of HF (39.2%). Ejection fraction was normal in 64.7% of patients, and 59.5% had an eGF less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2), and 11.2% with an eGF less than 30 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). Less spironolactone was prescribed in patients with advanced stages of renal dysfunction (24%), compared with patients with an eGF>60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (35%; P=.025). Worsening renal function was independently associated with an increased mortality risk (RR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.13-3.71; P=.018).

About 60% of patients admitted to Internal Medicine with HF have impaired renal function. This comorbidity is associated with a two-fold increase in all-cause mortality.