Table 2.

Characteristics of all 16,539 Older Adults Surviving 45 days After a Heart Failure Admission Between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 1999 by the Initial ACE Inhibitor Dose Dispensed

	Initial Dose Dispensed
	Total (N= 16,539)	Nonuser (N= 5,746)	Low (N= 3,935)	Medium (N=4,316)	High (N= 2,542)
Mean age, y ± SD	79.13 ± 7.39	79.30 ± 7.44	80.24 ± 7.53	78.96 ± 7.23	77.33 ± 6.99
Charlson Index, mean ± SD	0.94 ± 1.15	1.02 ± 1.23	0.84 ± 1.11	0.92 ± 1.12	0.94 ± 1.06
0–1, n(%)	12,686 (76.7)	4,232 (73.7)	3,136 (79.7)	3,350 (77.6)	1,968 (77.4)
2, n(%)	2,377 (14.4)	874 (15.2)	497 (12.6)	627 (14.5)	379 (14.9)
>2, n(%)	1,476 (8.9)	640 (11.1)	302 (7.7)	339 (7.9)	195 (7.7)
Female gender, n(%)	8,854 (53.5)	3,093 (53.8)	2,216 (56.3)	2,237 (51.8)	1,308 (51.5)
Potential Contraindications to ACE
Inhibitor Therapy, n(%)
History of hypotension	353 (2.1)	131 (2.3)	100 (2.5)	82 (1.9)	40 (1.6)
History of hyperkalemia	260 (1.6)	117 (2.0)	56 (1.4)	60 (1.4)	27 (1.1)
History of renal impairment	3,160 (19.1)	1,423 (24.8)	672 (17.1)	663 (15.4)	402 (15.8)
Any of the above	3,502 (21.2)	1,537 (26.7)	768 (19.5)	755 (17.5)	442 (17.4)
Use of Additional Heart Failure Therapies, n(%)
Beta-blockers	3,282 (19.8)	1,033 (18.0)	689 (17.5)	908 (21.0)	652 (25.6)
Digoxin	6,682 (40.4)	1,845 (32.1)	1,705 (43.3)	1,944 (45.0)	1,188 (46.7)
Diuretic therapy	13,900 (84.0)	4,267 (74.3)	3,489 (88.7)	3,850 (89.2)	2,294 (90.2)
Isosorbide dinitrate with hydralazine	36 (0.2)	30 (0.5)	3 (0.1)	0 (0.0)	3 (0.1)
Crude Outcomes, n(%)
Death	4,186 (25.3)	1,606 (27.9)	995 (25.3)	1,061 (24.6)	524 (20.6)
Death or heart failure rehospitalization	6,179 (37.4)	2,267 (39.5)	1,424 (36.2)	1,583 (36.7)	905 (35.6)
Death or all-cause hospitalization	10,092 (61.0)	3,675 (64.0)	2,343 (59.5)	2,585 (59.9)	1,489 (58.6)

ACE, angiotensin-converting enzyme; SD, standard deviation.