ABSTRACT
Diabetes and heart failure are closely interdependent, but its significance in decompensated heart failure (DHF) is not uniformly accepted. OBJECTIVE: To compare mortality between diabetics and nondiabetics with DHF. METHODS AND RESULTS: In-hospital and 1-year mortality of 1004 consecutive patients with DHF: 25.6% diabetics; median age was 81, 53% male. Diabetics were younger, more often male, with higher prevalence of ischemic etiology and reduced ejection fraction. Congestion was the most prevalent finding in both groups. In hospital mortality was 6.3% vs 6.6 % in nondiabetics and diabetics respectively and 1-year mortality was 35.77% in nondiabetics and 29.3% in diabetics. There were no significant differences in mortality at univariate and multivariate analyses. We applied a propensity score restricted to 378 patients, 189 (50%) diabetics and 189 (50%) and no significant differences were found. CONCLUSION: Diabetes had no impact on prognosis in DHF. Advanced age may played a major role in outcomes i thus making less relevant the presence of diabetes.