Long-Term Outcomes of Adults With Heart Failure by Left Ventricular Systolic Function Status

Patients with heart failure (HF) and preserved (HFpEF) or borderline preserved ejection fraction (HFbEF) outnumber patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), but limited data exist on outcomes in community-based populations of these patients. We examined clinical outcomes in a diverse population of adults with HFrEF, HFbEF, and HFpEF. All adults with diagnosed HF from 2005 to 2012 in Kaiser Permanente Northern California were categorized by left ventricular systolic function as HFpEF (EF ≥50%), HFbEF (EF 41-49%), or HFrEF (EF ≤40%). Demographics, clinical characteristics, and therapies were obtained from electronic records. Outcomes included death, HF hospitalization, and HF-related emergency department (ED) visit. In 28,914 eligible HF patients, there were 52% HFpEF, 16% HFbEF, and 32% HFrEF, with mean age 72.8 years and 45% women. During median follow-up of 3.5 years, crude rates (per 100 person-years) of death, HF hospitalization, and HF-related ED visit were 14.5 (95% CI 14.3 to 14.7), 15.8 (15.5 to 16.0), and 38.2 (37.8 to 38.5), respectively. Compared with HFrEF patients, adjusted hazard ratios of death, HF hospitalization, and HF-related ED visit for HFpEF patients were 0.82 (0.79 to 0.85), 0.72 (0.68 to 0.75), and 0.94 (0.90 to 0.99), respectively, and for HFbEF patients were 0.84 (0.79 to 0.88), 0.79 (0.73 to 0.84), and 0.90 (0.84 to 0.96), respectively. In conclusion, within a large community-based HF cohort, adjusted rates of death, HF hospitalization, and HF-related ED visits were similar in HFpEF and HFbEF patients, but higher in HFrEF patients. Regardless of systolic function, however, long-term mortality and morbidity in all HF patients remain high, reinforcing the need for novel strategies to improve long-term outcomes.