[Cross-sectional analysis of heart failure among patients in the Internal Medicine Service at a third-level hospital. Part I: epidemiologic analysis].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the epidemiologic characteristics of the patients intake during five years in a internal medicine department, with heart failure.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study of the intake patients in the Internal Medicine Service in the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela between 1999 to 2003. The variables analized were: sex, age, days of hospital stay, number of intake by failure cardiac, reason for admission (guide symptom), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, fibrillation atrium, previous treatment with beta-blockers, blood pressure in the admission moment, to make echocardiography, disfunction systolic, etiology, deceased, treatment at the end. The statistical analysis was performed with qualitative and quantitative measures, chi-cuadrado and t-student, and multivariant analyses.


RESULTS
248 patients were accepted for the study. We observed more women than men (55.2%) and bigger median age (79 years old vs. 73 years old in men, p < 0.001). The mean income was 13.61 days and a median of 11 days. The 41,8% of the patients had hypertension, 30.9% diabetes mellitus and 81,9% had someone heart disease. The aetiologies of heart failure most frequent were ischemic cardiopathy (27.2%) and hypertension (24.2%). The most frequent symptom was the dyspnea (68.9%). It made echocardiography in 20.9% of patients and 45.1% showed systolic disfunction. The only factor related with this small percentage of echocardiographies was the incoming time. The most frequent etiology was respiratory infections (39.5%). The 8.6% of patients was deceased. The pharmacologic treatment more prescribed were the diuretics (86.9%) and transcutaneous nitrates (49.5%). It was indicated ECAI or AAR-II in the 86.9% of patients and beta-blockers in 0.9%.


CONCLUSIONS
The number of echocardiograms practiced to the patients is smaller that the number advised by international associations and smaller to the cardiologist registers. The beta-blockers and ECAI use is smaller too.
Cinza Sanjurjo
S
S
Fundación Pública Urgencias Sanitarias 061 Galicia, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña. sergiocinza@mundo-r.com
Cabarcos Ortiz de Barrón
A
A
Enrique Nieto Pol
E
E
Torre Carballada
J A
JA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006748:Hospital Departments; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D008297:Male; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
D002317:Cardiovascular Agents