Table 1.
Main characteristics of the overall study population and divided according to treatments use vs. non-use
| Total | RASI/ARNI | Beta-blockers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | population | Non-use | Use | P-value | Non-use | Use | P-value |
| N | 12 421 | 2002 (16%) | 10 419 (84%) | 1480 (12%) | 10 941 (88%) | ||
| Demographic/organizational characteristics | |||||||
| Male, n (%) | 7921 (64%) | 1125 (56%) | 6796 (65%) | <0.001 | 972 (66%) | 6949 (64%) | 0.100 |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 74 (12) | 79 (11) | 73 (12) | <0.001 | 77 (12) | 74 (12) | <0.001 |
| Outpatient, n (%) | 7987 (64%) | 796 (40%) | 7191 (69%) | <0.001 | 805 (54%) | 7182 (66%) | <0.001 |
| F-up referral HF nurse clinic, n (%) | 6148 (52.0%) | 689 (37%) | 5459 (55%) | <0.001 | 634 (46%) | 5514 (53%) | <0.001 |
| F-up referral specialty, n (%) | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||
| Hospital | 7132 (60%) | 838 (45%) | 6294 (62%) | 691 (49%) | 6441 (61%) | ||
| Primary care | 4493 (37%) | 931 (50%) | 3562 (35%) | 663 (47%) | 3830 (36%) | ||
| Other | 319 (3%) | 88 (5%) | 231 (2%) | 52 (4%) | 267 (2%) | ||
| Clinical characteristics | |||||||
| HF duration > 6 months, n (%) | 9404 (77%) | 1543 (79%) | 7861 (77%) | 0.067 | 1131 (78%) | 8273 (77%) | 0.220 |
| NYHA class, n (%) | <0.001 | 0.070 | |||||
| III-IV | 3164 (35%) | 564 (47%) | 2600 (33%) | 371 (37%) | 2793 (34%) | ||
| SBP (mmHg), mean (SD) | 128 (20) | 128 (21) | 128 (20) | 0.420 | 129 (20) | 128 (20) | 0.007 |
| DBP (mmHg), mean (SD) | 73 (12) | 72 (12) | 73 (12) | 0.004 | 72 (12) | 73 (12) | <0.001 |
| HR (b.p.m.), mean (SD) | 72 (14) | 76 (16) | 71 (14) | <0.001 | 72 (15) | 72 (14) | 0.580 |
| Laboratory measurements | |||||||
| eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m²), n (%) | <0.001 | 0.100 | |||||
| eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73 m² | 929 (8%) | 449 (23%) | 480 (5%) | 120 (8%) | 809 (8%) | ||
| eGFR 30–59 mL/min/1.73 m² | 4812 (40%) | 922 (47%) | 3890 (38%) | 608 (42%) | 4204 (39%) | ||
| eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m² | 6417 (53%) | 598 (30%) | 5819 (57%) | 733 (50%) | 5684 (53%) | ||
| NT-proBNP (ng/L), median (IQR) | 1650 (654–3820) | 3479 (1530–8311) | 1460 (584–3306) | <0.001 | 1782 (667–4536) | 1630 (653–3730) | 0.077 |
| NT-proBNP > 1650 ng/L, n (%) | 3289 (50%) | 690 (73%) | 2605 (46%) | 353 (48%) | 2936 (50%) | ||
| NT-proBNP ≤1650 ng/L, n (%) | 3289 (50%) | 251 (27%) | 3038 (54%) | 385 (52%) | 2910 (50%) | ||
| Potassium, n (%) | <0.001 | 0.240 | |||||
| Hyperkalemia (>5 mEq/L) | 382 (4%) | 64 (4%) | 318 (4%) | ||||
| Normokalemia (3.5–5.0 mEq/L) | 9195 (92%) | 1325 (89%) | 7870 (93%) | ||||
| Hypokalemia (<3.5 mEq/L) | 370 (4%) | 105 (7%) | 265 (3%) | ||||
| Medical history/comorbidities | |||||||
| BMI (kg/m²), median (IQR) | 27 (24–31) | 26 (23–30) | 27 (24–31) | <0.001 | 26 (23–30) | 27 (24–31) | <0.001 |
| BMI > 30, n (%) | 2098 (30%) | 289 (25%) | 1809 (31%) | 202 (25%) | 1896 (31%) | ||
| Diabetes, n (%) | 3642 (29%) | 626 (31%) | 3016 (29%) | 0.037 | 416 (28%) | 3226 (29%) | 0.270 |
| AF, n (%) | 7746 (62.4%) | 1407 (70%) | 6339 (61%) | <0.001 | 919 (62%) | 6827 (62%) | 0.820 |
| Ischaemic heart disease, n (%) | 7482 (60%) | 1261 (63%) | 6221 (60%) | 0.006 | 860 (58%) | 6622 (60%) | 0.075 |
| Anaemia, n (%)a | 4349 (37.4%) | 994 (51%) | 3355 (35%) | <0.001 | 622 (44%) | 3727 (36%) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 8555 (69%) | 1418 (71%) | 7137 (68%) | 0.039 | 964 (65%) | 7591 (69%) | <0.001 |
| Peripheral artery disease, n (%) | 1294 (10%) | 255 (13%) | 1039 (10%) | <0.001 | 160 (11%) | 1134 (10%) | 0.600 |
| Stroke/TIA, n (%) | 2176 (17%) | 470 (23%) | 1706 (16%) | <0.001 | 286 (19%) | 1890 (17%) | 0.052 |
| Malignant cancer < 3 years, n (%) | 1610 (13%) | 267 (13%) | 2493 (24%) | 0.032 | 238 (16%) | 1372 (12%) | <0.001 |
| COPD, n (%) | 2092 (17%) | 426 (21%) | 1666 (16%) | <0.001 | 297 (20%) | 1795 (16%) | <0.001 |
| Treatments | |||||||
| RASI/ARNI, n (%) | 10 419 (84%) | - | - | - | 1087 (73%) | 9332 (85%) | <0.001 |
| Beta-blockers, n (%) | 10 941 (88%) | 1609 (80%) | 9332 (90%) | <0.001 | - | - | - |
| MRA, n (%)*^ | 4501 (36%) | 688 (34%) | 3813 (37%) | 0.057 | 464 (31%) | 4037 (37%) | <0.001 |
| Diuretics, n (%) | 9643 (78%) | 1731 (87%) | 7912 (76%) | <0.001 | 1144 (77%) | 8499 (78%) | 0.700 |
| Digoxin, n (%) | 1765 (14%) | 295 (15%) | 1470 (14%) | 0.44 | 177 (12%) | 1588 (14%) | 0.008 |
| ICD*^ | 581 (5%) | 59 (3%) | 522 (5%) | <0.001 | 21 (2%) | 560 (5%) | <0.001 |
| CRT*^ | 468 (4%) | 40 (2%) | 428 (4%) | <0.001 | 20 (1%) | 448 (4%) | <0.001 |
| Socioeconomic characteristics | |||||||
| Education, n (%) | <0.001 | 0.160 | |||||
| Compulsory school | 5393 (44.3%) | 1004 (51%) | 4389 (43%) | 657 (45%) | 4736 (44%) | ||
| Secondary school | 4751 (39.1%) | 662 (34%) | 4089 (40%) | 532 (37%) | 4219 (39%) | ||
| University | 2017 (16.6%) | 278 (14%) | 1739 (17%) | 255 (18%) | 1762 (16%) | ||
| Income, n (%) | <0.001 | 0.086 | |||||
| Low | 4289 (34%) | 792 (40%) | 3497 (33%) | 517 (35%) | 3772 (34%) | ||
| Medium | 4763 (38%) | 810 (40.%) | 3953 (38%) | 596 (40%) | 4167 (38%) | ||
| High | 3363 (27%) | 400 (20%) | 2963 (28%) | 367 (25%) | 2996 (27%) | ||
AF, atrial fibrillation; ARNI, angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor; BMI, body mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CRT, cardiac resynchronization therapy; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; F-up; follow-up, HF, heart failure; HR, heart rate; ICD, implantable cardioverter defibrillator; IQR, interquartile range; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; NT-proBNP; N terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, NYHA, New York Heart Association; RASI, renin–angiotensin system inhibitor; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SD, standard deviation; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.
∼ Defined as Hb < 130 g/L in men and 120 g/L in women.
For complete characteristics see Supplementary material online, Table S3.