The characteristics of deceased and surviving patients with congestive heart failure at a department of internal medicine.
OBJECTIVE
We examined differences between surviving and deceased patients with congestive heart failure (HF).


BACKGROUND
Congestive HF is a frequent disease with still increasing incidence, prevalence and poor prognosis. Patients have high mortality.


METHODS
Over the period of 4 years we followed up 2 groups of matched patients with congestive HF: surviving (27 patients, 77.4+/-7.7 years) and deceased (27 patients, 76.7+/-9.3 years). We examined differences in the incidence and the intensity of risk factors, New York Heart Association class, signs of HF, incidence of complications, differences in echocardiographic parameters, the incidence of left ventricular hypertrophy, and differences in laboratory values (pulmonary, hepatic, renal). Obtained values were tested using statistical methods.


RESULTS
We found higher incidence of myocardial infarction in deceased patients (p=0.0148). Surviving patients had lower heart rate (p=0.0115), higher left ventricular ejection fraction (p=0.0307), thicker interventricular septum (p=0.0239), higher values of arterial O2 pressure (p=0.0033), and lower values of proteinuria (p=0.0058).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with poorer prognosis of congestive HF differed from the "healthier" ones by some clinical, echocardiographic, and laboratory parameters, and higher incidence of myocardial infarction. Significant differences of the next examined parameters between observed groups may be obtained by increasing the number of studied patients. (Tab. 5, Ref: 24.)
Bajcsyova
J
J
First Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Murin
J
J
Kozlikova
K
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate