Table 1.

Characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure who died in 2007, by Hospice Status

Characteristic	No Hospice (n=10,177)	Hospice (n=6,436)	p
Age Category			<0.001
67–74	15.1	11.0
75–79	15.0	12.6
80–84	22.2	21.0
85–89	23.2	26.1
≥90	24.6	29.3
Age, years, mean (SD)	83.6 (7.9)	85.0 (7.6)	<0.001
Female	55.5	60.5	<0.001
Race			<0.001
White	87.2	91.4
Black	8.9	6.2
Other	3.9	2.5
Region			<0.001
Northeast	24.0	18.7
Midwest	26.5	28.1
South	35.5	40.1
West	14.0	13.2
Comorbid Conditions
COPD	45.4	44.5	0.27
Hypertension	80.5	81.0	0.42
Kidney disease	30.7	30.1	0.37
ESRD	6.5	4.0	<0.001
Diabetes	45.5	39.9	<0.001
Cancer	15.4	21.1	<0.001
Dementia	12.1	15.2	<0.001
Cerebrovascular Disease	30.9	33.2	<0.01
Coronary Atherosclerosis	58.6	55.9	<0.01
Peripheral vascular disease	22.1	22.6	0.42
Depression	16.9	19.8	<0.001
Hospitalizations, 6–18 months prior to death			0.01
None	30.4	28.3
1–2	38.0	39.5
≥3	31.6	32.2
Hospitalizations, 6–18 months prior to death, mean (SD)	2.10 (2.44)	2.14 (2.40)	0.02

In percentage points unless otherwise specified