Clinical characteristics and prognosis of hospitalised inpatients with heart failure and preserved or reduced left ventricular ejection fraction.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical and prognostic differences between patients with heart failure who had preserved or deteriorated systolic function, defined as a left ventricular ejection fraction of > 50% or < 50%, respectively, within two weeks of admission to hospital. METHODS: The records of 229 patients with congestive heart failure were studied. There were 95 women and 134 men, mean (SD) age 66.7 (11.7) years, who had been admitted to a cardiology department for congestive heart failure in the period 1991 to 1994, and whose left ventricular systolic function had been evaluated echocardiographically within two weeks of admission. Data were collected on the main clinical findings, supplementary investigations, treatment, and duration of hospital admission. Follow up information was obtained in the spring of 1998 by searching the general archives of the hospital and by a telephone survey. RESULTS: Left ventricular systolic function was preserved in 29% of the patients. The preserved and deteriorated groups differed significantly in the sex ratio (more women in the preserved group) and in the presence of a third heart sound, cardiomegaly, alveolar oedema, ischaemic cardiomyopathy, and treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (all more in the deteriorated group). There were no significant differences in age, New York Heart Association functional class, rhythm disturbances, left ventricular hypertrophy, treatment with drugs other than ACE inhibitors, or survival. In the group as a whole, the survival rates after three months, one year, and five years were 92.6%, 80%, and 48.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the unexpectedly poor prognosis of patients with congestive heart failure and preserved left ventricular systolic function, controlled clinical trials should be carried out to optimise their treatment.

[Influence of systemic arterial hypertension on mid-term survival of patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with fibrinolytic agents]. / Influencia de la hipertensión arterial sistémica en la supervivencia a medio plazo de los pacientes con infarto agudo de miocardio que han recibido tratamiento fibrinolítico.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study to asses the effect of systemic arterial hypertension on mid-term survival of patients with acute myocardial infarction who received thrombolytic treatment. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We studied 202 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction, admitted in the Coronary Care Unit of the Hospital Xeral de Galicia who received intravenous thrombolytic therapy within six hours from the onset of symptoms. The thrombolytics used were: urokinase (79.7%), rt-PA (9.9%), streptokinase (4.9%) and APSAC (5.5%). Left heart catheterization with coronary angiography was performed in 162 patients at 2 weeks after infarction. Patency of the infarction-related artery (IRA) was classified according to Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) criteria. A patent artery weas defined as having TIMI grades 2 or 3 antegrade flow. RESULTS: Systemic arterial hypertension was found in 34.7% of patients. IRA patency (TIMI 2-3) was demonstrated in the 75.3% of the patients. Early mortality (first month) was 5.4%. Multivariate analysis identified cardiogenic shock as the only variable with independent predictive value for early mortality. Mean follow-up was for 24 +/- 19 months. Late mortality was 5.2% and cardiac death occurred in 4.2% of patients. Reinfarction occurred in 3.1% of patients. Congestive heart failure, arterial hypertension and reinfarction adversely affected prognosis. Actuarial survival at the end of follow-up period was significantly lower in patients with systemic arterial hypertension (70.4% vs 85.9%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that systemic arterial hypertension adversely affects mid-term prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction who received thrombolytic treatment.