Georgiopoulou VV, et al. - Researchers herein sought to determine the impact of comorbid conditions and sociodemographic risk factors on outcomes in outpatients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Comorbidities and sociodemographic factors could be held responsible for most hospitalizations, which were more likely to be influenced by multidisciplinary approaches. Effects of heart failure (HF) therapies on hospitalizations and related endpoints may be difficult to demonstrate in these patients.

• Researchers assessed 445 consecutive outpatients with HFpEF, defined as established diagnosis of heart failure (HF) with left ventricular ejection fraction at presentation (LVEF) >40% and no previous LVEF ≤40%.
• They excluded patients with specific cardiomyopathies, congenital heart disease, primary right-sided disease, valvular disease, or previous advanced HF therapies.

• A total of 44 deaths and 609 all-cause hospitalizations were documented after 2 years; of these, 260 (42.7%) were cardiovascular hospitalizations, including HF, and 173 (28.4%) were specifically for HF.
• Researchers noted that the highest attributable risk for hospitalizations was associated with marital status (single, divorced, and widowed had higher hospitalization rates compared to married patients), hypoalbuminemia, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, and renal dysfunction.
• Findings also demonstrated that the proportion of hospitalizations potentially attributable to these factors was 66.6% (95%CI: 56.4–74.4) for all-cause hospitalizations, 76.9% (95%CI: 65.2–84.6) for cardiovascular hospitalizations, and 83.0% (95%CI: 70.3-90.3) for HF hospitalizations.
• Additionally, it was noted that for composite endpoints, the proportion was 46.9% (95%CI: 34.0%–57.3%) for death or all-cause hospitalization, 45.7% (95%CI: 29.3%–58.2%) for death or cardiovascular hospitalization, and 43.7% (95%CI: 24.2%–58.2%) for death or HF-related hospitalization.