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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Acad Emerg Med. 2014 Jun;21(6):659–666. doi: 10.1111/acem.12390

Table 2.

Patient Characteristics Stratified by Five Point Likert Scale Change

Variable Not Improved (n=142) Improved (n=299) p-value
Mean age, yrs (±SD) 66.1 ±15.5 68.8 ±14.0 0.07
Sex, female 63 (44) 134 (45) 0.93
Race 0.012
 Black 34 (24) 36 (12)
 White 107 (75) 258 (86)
Heart failure history 0.002
 Chronic heart failure 102 (73) 166 (57)
 New onset heart failure 38 (27) 125 (43)
 Most recent known LVEF, median (IQR) (n=227) 38.0 (10–75) 40.0 (10–80) 0.33
Past medical history
 CAD 74 (52) 112 (37) 0.004
 Prior MI 37 (26) 72 (24) 0.65
 Primary cardiomyopathy 28 (20) 30 (10) 0.005
 Obesity 37 (26) 75 (25) 0.83
 Peripheral vascular disease 9 (6) 30 (10) 0.20
 Asthma/COPD 29 (20) 46 (15) 0.19
 Diabetes- insulin dependent 27 (19) 43 (14) 0.21
 Diabetes- non-insulin dependent 27 (19) 61 (20) 0.73
 Renal insufficiency 38 (27) 78 (26) 0.88
 Anemia (Hg < 12 g/dL) 28 (20) 36 (12) 0.032
 Hypertension 103 (73) 227 (76) 0.44
Prehospital treatment 0.015
 Yes 69 (49) 178 (60)
 No 63 (44) 91 (30)
 Unknown 10 (7) 30 (10)
Signs & symptoms prior to triage
 Onset of dyspnea before triage 0.11
  1 to 3 days 26 (18) 45 (15)
  3 to 5 days 13 (9) 28 (9)
  last 24 hrs 41 (29) 123 (41)
  > 5 days 61 (43) 99 (33)
 Weight gain 49 (35) 91 (30) 0.39
 Fatigue 102 (72) 167 (56) 0.001
 No preceding signs 17 (12) 57 (19) 0.06
Initial vital signs, mean (±SD)
 Systolic BP, mmHg 137.3 ±33.7 146.7 ±33.9 0.007
 Diastolic BP, mmHg 78.7 ±19.6 82.4 ±19.1 0.06
 Heart rate (beats/min) 89.4 ±22.4 92.4 ±24.6 0.21
 Respiratory rate (breaths/min) 21.5 ±7.0 23.0 ±7.0 0.041
 Oxygen saturation 94.3 ±5.3 92.3 ±5.9 0.002
Physical exam findings
 Abnormal heart sounds (e.g., murmur, gallop) 48 (34) 71 (24) 0.026
 Jugular venous distention 70 (49) 117 (39) 0.044
 Rales 90 (63) 204 (68) 0.31
 Wheezing 22 (15) 38 (13) 0.43
 Peripheral edema 85 (60) 147 (49) 0.036
 Other signs: none of the above 10 (7) 36 (12) 0.11
Laboratory results, mean (±SD)
 Serum Sodium (mmol/L) 137.1 ±12.5 135.9 ±16.5 0.44
 Serum Potassium 4.0 ±0.9 3.9 ±0.9 0.16
 Creatinine 1.5 ±1.4 1.5 ±1.1 0.58
 Urea 43.9 ±51.2 27.2 ±35.5 <0.001
 BNP, median (IQR) (n=98) 866.5 (40–5,019) 938.5 (61–4,357) 0.65
 NTpro BNP, median (IQR) (n=89) 7281 (902–34,019) 6302.5 (395– 30,000) 0.27
 Troponin > 0.04 ng/ml (n=441) 42 (30) 129 (43) 0.006
CXR and ECG Results
 CXR: normal 4 (3) 5 (2) 0.43
 CXR: interstitial edema 77 (54) 122 (41) 0.008
 CXR: pulmonary edema 18 (13) 60 (20) 0.06
 First ECG: normal 10 (7) 21 (7) 0.99
 First ECG: sinus rhythm 76 (54) 174 (58) 0.35
Baseline medications
 Beta-blockers 88 (62) 143 (48) 0.005
 ACE inhibitors 74 (52) 139 (46) 0.27
 Angiotension II receptor blockers 16 (11) 38 (13) 0.67
 Aldosterone antagonists 26 (18) 26 (9) 0.003
 Diuretics 105 (74) 183 (61) 0.009

Data are reported as n (%) unless otherwise noted.

ACE = angiotensin-converting enzyme; BNP = brain natriuretic peptide; BP = blood pressure; CAD = coronary artery disease; COPD = congestive obstructive pulmonary disease; Hg = hemoglobin; LVEF = left ventricular ejection fraction; MI = myocardial infarction; NTproBNP = N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; ECG = electrocardiogram;