The incidence and the characteristics of heart failure patients at a large medical department.
BACKGROUND
Chronic heart failure (HF) has a prevalence of 6-10 % in patients above the age of 65 years, leading to high mortality, morbidity and re-hospitalization.


OBJECTIVE
To analyse the incidence and the characteristics of patients with HF in a medical department.


METHODS
941 patients (males 424, females 517 with an average age of 64 years and 67 years respectively), hospitalized from 1.9.1998 to 28.2.1999 at the 1st Internal Department of the University Hospital. A retrospective analysis of their files: age, diagnosis, duration of hospitalization, and in those patients with HF: the occurrence of risk factors and clinical events( stroke, myocardial infarction, and atrial fibrillation).


RESULTS
We have analyzed the incidence of diseases at a medical department where 58.7 % of patients suffered from cardiovascular diseases. Patients with HF represented 13.9 % of all hospitalized patients. Among the risk factors dominated hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia and smoking. The average duration of hospitalization was 12.66 days in men and 13.67 days in women. The hospitalization period was 15.6 days in hypertensive diabetic males whereas in females it was 15.3 days. These patients were hospitalized in their 5th decade with the incidence of HF increasing with age. Their mortality was 11.5 % while the overall mortality was 9.7 % among all patients hospitalized. Those patients who died suffered from poly-morbidity.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of HF in our patients was 13.9 %. This value is higher than the data from literature. These patients suffered from poly-morbidity (hypertension: 53-75 %, diabetes: 30 %, obesity: 33-38 %, hyperlipidemia: 20-50 %, smoking: 11-32 %, myocardial infarction: 41-50 %) and had a high mortality. (Tab. 5, Fig. 2, Ref. 7.).
Husakova
J
J
Ist Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. bll@fmed.uniba.sk
Jasenkova
E
E
Murin
J
J
Sleiman
O
O
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D018154:Slovakia