Non-Cardiac Comorbidities Common in Heart Failure Patients
Non-cardiovascular (CV) related comorbidities are increasingly common among patients with heart failure (HF), and are associated with an higher risk of mortality according to the results of a new study.
The study included data of 207,984 patients hospitalized with HF and enrolled in the Get With The Guidelines American Heart Association registry from 2005 to 2014. Diabetes, obstructive pulmonary disease, anemia, renal disease, obesity, and depression were identified as 6 key non-CV comorbidities. The influence of non-CV comorbidities on length of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality was assessed over 9 years.
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Overall, 30% of patients had 1 non-CV comorbidity, 27% of patients had 2 non-CV comorbidities, and 25% of patients had 3 non-CV comorbidities. Only 18% of patients did not present with a non-CV comorbidity when hospitalized with HF.
The patients who had an increasing number of non-CV comorbidities were younger and were more likely to have HF with preserved ejection fraction. In addition, those with an increasing number of non-CV comorbidities had an increased risk of staying in the hospital for more than 4 days and an increased risk of in-hospital mortality.
During follow-up, the researchers found an increase in the prevalence of all non-CV comorbidities over time, as well as an increase in the proportion of patients with 3 non-CV comorbidities.
“The increasing burden of non-CV comorbidities among patients hospitalized with HF over time reflects a shift in the profile of patients with HF,” the researchers concluded. “Strategies to manage and treat the growing burden of non-CV comorbidities will be required and should be included in the delivery of in-hospital HF care pathway.”
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
Sharma A, Zhao X, Hammil BG, et al. The changing non-cardiovascular comorbidity profile of patients hospitalized with heart failure: Insights from the Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure registry. Presented at: Heart Failure 2017—4th Annual World Congress on Heart Failure; April 29-May 2, 2017; Paris, FR. Abstract 876.