Table 1.

Characteristics of hospitalized heart failure patients, by sex and year (1995 and 2000)

Variable	Men		Women
	1995	2000	1995	2000
	(N = 1,216)	(N = 987)	(N = 1,041)	(N = 838)
Age (years, mean ± SD)	67 ± 10	66 ± 11	68 ± 9	68 ± 10
Ever Smoker (%)	68	72	53	57
LVEF (%, mean ± SD)	33 ± 15	33 ± 15	41 ± 17	41 ± 17
Missing (%)	54	46	56	50
Documented Medical History (%)
Hypertension	62	68	67	74
Diabetes	35	37	36	40
Coronary Artery Disease	59	63	43	51
Congestive Heart Failure	65	69	59	70
In-Hospital Medication (%)
ACE Inhibitor	62	65	57	55
Beta Blocker	19	54	20	50
Spironolactone	3	22	3	17
Discharge Medication (%)
ACE Inhibitor	53	56	47	47
Beta Blocker	13	45	13	42
Spironolactone	2	19	1	16
Length of Hospital Stay (days, median, Q1–Q3)	5,3–8	5,3–8	5,3–9	5,3–8
Mortality (%)
30 days	14	9	10	9
6 months	27	21	21	18
1 year	36	28	27	27

LVEF = left ventricular ejection fraction;

ACE = angiotensin converting enzyme