Clinical characteristics and prognosis of heart failure in elderly patients

The aim of this study was to assess prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognosis in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) compared to patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF) who were followed in an internal medicine unit.

In this retrospective observational study, the sample consisted of 301 patients followed in an internal medicine referral unit between January 2007 and December 2010. All patients were checked to determine their vital status on 31 December 2012. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves, and compared using the log-rank test.

Of the 301 patients, 165 (54.8%) were women. In the 263 cases (87.4%) who underwent echocardiographic assessment, 190 (72.2%) had HFPEF and 73 (27.8%) had HFREF. Mean age was similar in the two groups (80.1 and 79.9 years; p=0.905), with a predominance of women in the HFPEF group (60.5% women, 42.5% men; p=0.025). The main etiology was hypertensive heart disease in the HFPEF group. Regarding treatment, more beta-blockers were administered in the HFREF group. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, NYHA functional class, or mortality.

Clinical characteristics were similar for both HFPEF and HFREF patients. Women were predominant in the HFPEF group, as was hypertensive etiology. No significant differences in mortality were observed between the groups.