Decompensated heart failure in the setting of kidney dysfunction: a community-wide perspective.
BACKGROUND
Patients with heart failure (HF) and kidney disease have a poor long-term outlook which has provided impetus for the identification of factors of prognostic importance and more fully understanding the impact of kidney dysfunction in patients with HF.


OBJECTIVE
Our objectives were to describe the characteristics, hospital treatment practices, as well as hospital and long-term outcomes in patients with varying degrees of kidney dysfunction who were hospitalized with acute HF at all medical centers in a large New England metropolitan area.


METHODS
Residents of the Worcester metropolitan area hospitalized with clinical findings of decompensated HF at 11 greater Worcester medical centers during 1995 and 2000 comprised the study sample. Kidney function was classified into 4 categories of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) for purposes of analysis: <30 (n = 569), 30-44 (n = 725), 45-59 (n = 763), and > or =60 (n = 2,293) ml/min per 1.73 m(2).


RESULTS
The average age of the study sample was 76 years and 57% were women. Patients with severe kidney dysfunction were less likely to receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics and digoxin during hospitalization for acute HF compared to patients with more normal kidney function. Patients with lower eGFR levels had higher in-hospital and post-discharge death rates in comparison to those with higher levels of eGFR.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate the impact of renal impairment on the prognosis of patients with decompensated HF. Our findings highlight the less than optimal management of these high-risk patients. Increased surveillance and enhanced treatment of patients with HF and kidney dysfunction remains warranted to improve the survival outlook of these patients.
Ismailov
Rovshan M
RM
Department of Community Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Goldberg
Robert J
RJ
Lessard
Darleen
D
Spencer
Frederick A
FA
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D016019:Survival Analysis