1-year hospital readmissions due to cardiovascular causes after a heart failure episode in elderly patients in Spain

Abstract

Background The prevalence of heart failure (HF) increases with age, one of the leading causes of hospitalization and death in the elderly. However, there are little data about the long-term readmission rate of elderly patients after an episode of HF admission in Spain. Purpose Study 1-year hospital readmissions due to cardiovascular causes in patients ≥75 years discharged to a hospital due to HF in Spain. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the Minumum basic dataset of Spain, including all episodes of HF discharged from public hospitals in Spain between 2016 and 2019. The codification was made with ICD-10. We selected patients ≥75 years with HF as the principal diagnosis. We analyzed predictors of readmissions 365 days after the index episode of HF hospitalization with Poisson regression. Results 236,463 index episodes of HF in>75 years were included. 59.1% were female, and the mean age was 85 (SD 5.6) years. 35.0% had HF-pef, 4.3% HF-ref, and 60.7% had unknown LVEF HF. 39.6% of patients had at least one readmission (mean 1.7 readmissions by year for these patients), with no differences in sex or age. Patients with non-cardiovascular comorbidities (renal failure, chronic lung disorders, and severe hematological disorders) as well as coronary atherosclerosis and diabetes were more likely to be readmitted (Table 1). Conclusions After a hospital discharge for HF in patients ≥75 years, the crude ratio of readmission due to cardiovascular causes at 1-year was 39.6%. Readmissions were more likely in patients with non-cardiovascular comorbidities, predominantly renal, hematological, and chronic respiratory disorders, and those with diabetes and coronary atherosclerosis. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.