title: Acute heart failure in the elderly: differences in clinical characteristics, outcomes, and prognostic factors in the VERITAS Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute heart failure (HF) is common in the elderly, but the association of age with clinical outcomes and prognostic factors has not been examined thoroughly.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We analyzed the clinical and laboratory characteristics and the outcomes of 1,347 patients with acute HF enrolled in the VERITAS trial. Subjects were subdivided based on their median age of 72 years. Older patients had a higher prevalence of comorbidities and a higher prevalence of hypertension and atrial fibrillation. During a mean follow-up of 149 ± 61 days, 432 patients (32.1%) reached the composite end point of death, in-hospital worsening HF, or HF rehospitalization by 30 days, and 135 patients (10.4%) died by 90 days, with a worse outcome in elderly patients in both cases. At multivariable analysis, different variables were related with each of these outcomes in elderly compared with younger patients. Regarding deaths at 90 days, plasma urea nitrogen and hemoglobin levels were predictive only in the younger patients, whereas respiratory rate and albumin levels were associated with mortality only in the older patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elderly patients with acute HF have different clinical characteristics and poorer outcomes. Prognostic variables differ in elderly compared with younger patients.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology, The Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Piazza Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: metramarco@libero.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metra
authors.affiliation: Momentum Research Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.affiliation: Momentum Research Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: El-Khorazaty
authors.affiliation: Momentum Research Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.affiliation: Momentum Research Inc., Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Milo
authors.affiliation: Cardiology, The Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Piazza Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carubelli
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Bourge
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Trust, London, United Kingdom; Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Kingston-upon-Hull, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Cleland
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Bichat, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jondeau
authors.affiliation: Monash Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krum
authors.affiliation: Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.affiliation: Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas and Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Torre-Amione
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center, Groningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dirk J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: van Veldhuisen
authors.affiliation: AbaNovus, Sanremo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rainisio
authors.affiliation: Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Allschwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kobrin
authors.affiliation: University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: McMurray
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Teerlink
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Heart failure; age; outcomes