Effect of age on outcome on patients hospitalized with heart failure: from a 20-year registry in a middle-eastern country (1991-2010).

The association between age, risk factors, and outcome of non-Caucasian patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) is not clear. A total of 7066 consecutive patients hospitalized with HF at Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar, from 1991 through 2010 were studied. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to age: group 1, 50 years and younger; group 2, older than 50 and up to 70 years; and group 3, older than 70 years. The prevalence of hypertension, chronic renal impairment, and atrial fibrillation increased with increased age. On admission, the older the age of the HF patient, the less likely they were to receive β-blockers and vasodilators. In-hospital mortality rate was higher in older patients when compared with the younger groups (10.6% group 3 vs 7% group 1 and 7.2% group 2; P=.001). During the study period, the relative reduction in mortality rates was higher in the younger when compared with the older patients (55%, 49%, and 41%, respectively). The clinical characteristics of Middle-Eastern HF patients vary considerably according to age. Over time, an overall marked improvement in hospital survival for HF was observed, which was associated with progressively increased treatment with evidence-based therapies. This survival improvement over time appears to be less pronounced in the elderly.