Table 1.
Characteristics of Acute Heart Failure Patient Visits (N = 2,246)
| Study (%) | |
| RAD1 | 559 (24.9) |
| RAD2 | 1,100 (49.0) |
| Cohort 3 | 587 (26.1) |
| Hospital site (%) | |
| Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus - Ottawa | 863 (38.4) |
| Ottawa Hospital General Campus - Ottawa | 316 (14.1) |
| Mount Sinai Hospital - Toronto | 304 (13.5) |
| Kingston General Hospital - Kingston | 279 (12.4) |
| University of Alberta - Edmonton | 229 (10.2) |
| Foothills Medical Centre - Calgary | 145 (6.5) |
| London Health Sciences Centre - London | 73 (3.3) |
| Jewish General Hospital - Montreal | 24 (1.1) |
| Hotel Dieu Hospital - Kingston | 8 (0.4) |
| North East Community Health Centre - Edmonton | 5 (0.2) |
| Demographics | |
| Age, y | 77.4 ± 10.6 |
| Range | 49-104 |
| Male (%) | 1,224 (54.5) |
| Arrival status | |
| Arrival by ambulance (%) | 924 (41.1) |
| Temperature, °C (N = 2,123) | 36.2 ± 0.7 |
| Heart rate, beats/min | 84.2 ± 20.1 |
| Respiratory rate | 22 ± 5.7 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg | 141 ± 27.3 |
| SaO2 by oximetry | 94.6 ± 4.8 |
| Duration of dyspnea, h | 62.2 ± 57.1 |
| Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS)a | 2 (2-3) |
| Past medical history (%) | |
| Heart failure | 1,638 (72.9) |
| Hypertension | 1,624 (72.3) |
| Diabetes | 903 (40.2) |
| Permanent atrial fibrillation | 850 (37.8) |
| Myocardial infarction | 736 (32.8) |
| Coronary artery bypass graft | 499 (22.2) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 487 (21.7) |
| Chronic renal failure | 479 (21.3) |
| Valvular heart disease | 420 (18.7) |
| Pacemaker | 358 (15.9) |
| Stroke or transient ischemic attack | 339 (15.1) |
| Angina | 219 (9.8) |
| Percutaneous coronary intervention | 144 (6.4) |
| Active cancer | 118 (5.3) |
| Peripheral vascular disease (intervention) | 103 (4.6) |
| Dementia | 78 (3.5) |
| Intubation for respiratory distress | 22 (1.0) |
| Smoker: current or former (%) | 789 (35.1) |
| Home oxygen (%) | 130 (5.8) |
| Ejection fraction from medical records (N = 1,617) | 45.1 ± 16.1 |
| Current cardiac medications (%) | |
| ACE inhibitors | 965 (43.0) |
| Antiarrhythmics | 164 (7.3) |
| Amiodarone | 147 (6.5) |
| Sotalol | 11 (0.5) |
| Propafenone | 3 (0.1) |
| Anticoagulants | 927 (41.3) |
| Warfarin | 672 (29.9) |
| New oral anticoagulant (dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban) | 255 (11.4) |
| Antiplatelet medications | 1,019 (45.4) |
| Beta blockers | 1,517 (67.5) |
| Calcium channel blockers | 754 (33.6) |
| Digoxin | 267 (11.9) |
| Diuretics | 1,667 (74.2) |
| Nitrates | 640 (28.5) |
| Statins | 1,326 (59.0) |
| Vasodilators | 97 (4.3) |
| Emergency department treatment (%) | |
| Intravenous diuretic | 2,009 (89.4) |
| Sublingual nitroglycerin | 167 (7.4) |
| Intravenous nitroglycerin | 69 (3.1) |
| Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation | 116 (5.2) |
| Laboratory values | |
| Hemoglobin (g/L) | 119.2 ± 20.4 |
| White blood cell (109/L) | 8.9 ± 5.1 |
| Urea (mmol/L) (N = 2,109) | 10.5 ± 6.2 |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) | 120.9 ± 67.5 |
| Serum CO2 (mmol/L) | 25.7 ± 3.8 |
| Potassium (mmol/L) | 4.3 ± 2.9 |
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 7.7 ± 3.4 |
| pCO2 (mm Hg) (N = 981) | 46.5 ± 10.8 |
| pH (N = 980) | 7.4 ± 0.1 |
| Troponin on arrival > upper reference level (%)b | 1,091 ± 48.6 |
| Highest troponin >3× upper reference level (%)b | 386 ± 17.2 |
| Electrocardiogram findings (%) | |
| Atrial fibrillation or flutter | 837 (37.3) |
| A-V conduction disturbance | 734 (32.7) |
| Chest x-ray findings (%) | |
| Cardiomegaly | 1,162 (51.7) |
| Pulmonary congestion | 1,466 (65.3) |
| Pleural effusion | 1,248 (55.6) |
| Pneumonia | 130 (5.8) |
Values are n (%), mean ± SD, or median (IQR).
a
Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS) ranges from 1 (most urgent) to 5 (least urgent).
b
Unable to pool troponin values because of different assays used.