In patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF), there are poor five-year survival rates and an elevated risk of cardiovascular and HF admission across the ejection fraction (EF) spectrum, according to research presented Nov. 12 at AHA 2017 in Anaheim, CA, and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Kevin S. Shah, MD, et al., looked at 39,982 HF patients at 254 hospitals. Patients were divided into HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), HF with borderline ejection fraction (HFbEF), or HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Results showed that the median survival was 2.1 years, and all three groups had similar five-year mortality (HFrEF 75.3 percent, HFpEF 75.7 percent and HFbEF 75.7 percent). Cardiovascular and HF readmission rates were higher in HFrEF and HFbEF vs. HFpEF.

The authors conclude that their findings "quantify the substantial burden that HF places on patients and the health care systems, irrespective of EF group, and highlight the critical need to identify new therapies that can improve outcomes for patients with HFrEF, HFbEF and HFpEF."

In a related editorial, Benjamin A. Steinberg, MD, MHS, FACC, and James C. Fang, MD, FACC, add that the analysis "should serve as another wake-up call to all providers to recognize the risk associated with HF, and another call to arms for HF researchers to urgently find new targets and strategies to manage HF."

Keywords: AHA17, AHA Annual Scientific Sessions, Stroke Volume, Research Personnel, Survival Rate, Patient Readmission, Heart Failure, Longitudinal Studies, Hospitalization

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