Some features of heart failure in the elderly at Cardiology Department of Thanh Nhan hospital

ABSTRACT

Investigation on 100 patients aged over 50, treated at cardiology department of Thanh Nhan hospital from January to December 2001 showed that: Heart failure was common in cardiovascular diseases (14.6%). The incident of heart failure increased with age, more in females than in males. The common causes of heart failure were valvular diseases (37%), hypertension (31%), myocardial ischemia (17%)… The majority of patients with heart failure hospitalized were in severe situation (third degree: 51%, fourth degree: 10%). Besides diuretic and Digoxin, most patients must use the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, other used β blockers