Sex-based differences in referral of heart failure patients to outpatient clinics: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend that hospitalized patients newly diagnosed with HF be referred to an outpatient HF clinic (HFC) within 2 weeks of discharge. Our study aims were (i) to assess the current literary landscape on the impact of patient sex on HFC referral and outcomes and (ii) to provide a qualitative overview of possible considerations for the impact of sex on referral patterns and HF characteristics including aetiology, symptom severity, investigations undertaken and pharmacologic therapy. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a scoping review using the Arksey and O'Malley framework and searched Medline, EMBASE, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, Ageline databases and grey literature. Eligible articles included index HF hospitalizations or presentations to the Emergency Department (ED), a description of the HFC referral of patients not previously followed by an HF specialist and sex-specific analysis. Of the 11 372 potential studies, 8 met the inclusion criteria. These studies reported on a total of 11 484 participants, with sample sizes ranging between 168 and 3909 (25.6%-50.7% female). The included studies were divided into two groups: (i) those outlining the referral process to an HFC and (ii) studies which include patients newly enrolled in an HFC. Of the studies in Group 1, males (51%-82.4%) were more frequently referred to an HFC compared with females (29%-78.1%). Studies in Group 2 enrolled a higher proportion of males (62%-74% vs. 26%-38%). One study identified independent predictors of HFC referral which included male sex, younger age, and the presence of systolic dysfunction, the latter two more often found in males. Two studies, one from each group reported a higher mortality amongst males compared with females, whereas another study from Group 2 reported a higher hospitalization rate amongst females following HFC assessment. CONCLUSIONS: Males were more likely than females to be referred to HFCs after hospitalization and visits to the Emergency Department, however heterogeneity across studies precluded a robust assessment of sex-based differences in outcomes. This highlights the need for more comprehensive longitudinal data on HF patients discharged from the acute care setting to better understand the role of sex on patient outcomes.

Sex-Specific Trends in Incidence and Mortality for Urban and Rural Ambulatory Patients with Heart Failure in Eastern Ontario from 1994 to 2013.

BACKGROUND: Differences in outcomes have previously been reported between urban and rural settings across a multitude of chronic diseases. Whether these discrepancies have changed over time, and how sex may influence these findings is unknown for patients with ambulatory heart failure (HF). We examined the temporal incidence and mortality trends by geography in these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 36,175 eastern Ontario residents who were diagnosed with HF in an outpatient setting from 1994 to 2013. The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. We examined temporal changes in mortality risk factors with the use of multivariable Cox proportional hazard models. The incidence of HF decreased in women and men across both rural and urban settings. Age-standardized mortality rates also decreased over time in both sexes but remained greater in rural men compared with rural women. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of HF in the ambulatory setting was greater for men than women and greater in rural than urban areas, but mortality rates remained higher in rural men compared with rural women. Further research should focus on ways to reduce this gap in the outcomes of men and women with HF.