Wong CM, et al. - This study compared younger and older patients with heart failure (HF) in terms of characteristics, health care use, and survival. According to findings, a small proportion of the total population was constituted by young patients, especially those < 45 years of age but these patients experienced frequent adverse events, with half of the younger patients being readmitted, two-thirds presenting to an emergency department (ED), and > 10% dying within a year.

Methods

• Researchers undertook an analysis of linked administrative databases in Alberta, Canada.
• They identified 34,548 patients who had a first hospitalization for HF as the principal diagnosis from 2002-2014.
• They stratified patients into 4 age groups: 20-44, 45-54, 55-64, and ≥ 65 years.

Results

• This study included a total of 34,548 patients; 496 (1.4%), 1319 (3.8%), 3359 (9.7%), and 29,374 (85%) were aged 20-44, 45-54, 55-64, and ≥ 65 years, respectively.
• Findings showed an over time decline in the incidence of HF hospitalization among patients ≥ 65 years and increase among men aged 20-64 years.
• Researchers found that in the year after the index HF hospitalization, younger patients versus older patients were less likely to present to the emergency department (ED) (eg, 67.2% of those aged 20-44 years vs 74.8% of those aged ≥ 65 years) or to be hospitalized for any reason (48.5% vs 61.2%), cardiovascular causes (28.6% vs 34.4%), or HF (14.8% vs 23.6%).
• They also noted that mortality rates were lower in younger patients aged 20-44 years but were still substantial: 3.9%, 12.4%, and 27.7% at 30 days, 1 year, and 5 years, respectively.