Table 1.
Characteristics of HF patients in the study cohort
| Characteristic | Count (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|
| Alive and non‐readmitted within 30 days | Readmitted or dead within 30 days | |
| Total number of HF patients | 8211 (76.3) | 2546 (23.7) |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 81.1 (7.6) | 83.1 (7.6) |
| Male (%) | 4028 (49.0) | 1247 (49.0) |
| Indigenous status: Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (%) | 141 (1.7) | 35(1.4) |
| History of heart failure | 3642 (44.3) | 1422 (55.8) |
| Length of stay (days), mean (SD) | 10.39 (15.9) | 16.22 (46.8) |
| Co‐morbidities (%) | ||
| Ischaemic heart disease | 4506 (54.9) | 1457 (57.2) |
| Hypertension | 5497 (66.9) | 1751 (68.8) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 3398 (41.4) | 1102 (43.3) |
| Diabetes | 2458 (29.9) | 806 (31.6) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 2240 (27.3) | 783 (30.7) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 1547 (18.8) | 549 (21.5) |
| Stroke | 1014 (12.3) | 366 (14.4) |
| Dementia | 545 (6.6) | 270 (10.6) |
| Depression | 691 (8.4) | 272 (10.7) |
| Cancer | 2811 (34.2) | 934 (36.7) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 2027 (24.7) | 795 (31.2) |
| Cardiogenic shock | 68 (0.8) | 30 (1.1) |
| Cardiomyopathy | 344 (4.2) | 115 (4.5) |
| SEIFA (%) | ||
| 5th quintile (least disadvantage) | 552 (6.7) | 182 (7.1) |
| 4th quintile | 1398 (17.0) | 439 (17.2) |
| 3rd quintile | 1450 (17.6) | 474 (18.6) |
| 2nd quintile | 1810 (22.0) | 555 (21.8) |
| 1st quintile (highest disadvantage) | 3001 (36.5) | 896 (35.2) |
| ARIA (%) | ||
| Major cities of Australia | 4247 (51.7) | 1334 (52.4) |
| Inner regional Australia | 2514 (30.6) | 692 (27.1) |
| Outer regional Australia | 897 (10.9) | 327 (12.8) |
| Remote Australia | 330 (4.0) | 118 (4.6) |
| Very remote Australia | 223 (2.7) | 75 (2.9) |
| History of drugs in the last 6 months (%) | ||
| No supply of BB or RAASi | 2298 (28.0) | 731 (28.7) |
| 1 or more supplies of RAASi only | 3249 (39.6) | 1097 (43.1) |
| 1 or more supplies of BB only | 741 (9.0) | 205 (8.0) |
| 1 or more supplies of both BB and RAASi | 1518 (18.5) | 411 (16.1) |
| At least one visit to health professionals in the last 6 months | ||
| GP | 6929 (84.4) | 2131 (83.7) |
| Specialist | 3980 (48.8) | 1079 (42.4) |
| Diagnostic | 6556 (79.8) | 2028 (79.6) |
| Allied Health | 1384 (16.8) | 353 (13.9) |
| At least one emergency admission in the last 6 months | 3591 (43.7) | 1303 (51.1) |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index score, mean (SD) | 4.2 (3.0) | 4.8 (3.1) |
| At least two supplies of ATC drugs in the last 6 months | ||
| Alimentary tract and metabolism | 4868 (59.3) | 1660 (65.2) |
| Blood and blood forming organs | 3835 (46.7) | 1183 (46.5) |
| Cardiovascular system | 7190 (87.6) | 2251 (88.4) |
| Dermatologicals | 730 (8.9) | 253 (9.9) |
| Genito urinary system and sex hormones | 388 (4.7) | 123 (4.8) |
| Systemic hormonal preparations, excluding sex hormones and insulins | 974 (11.9) | 356 (14.0) |
| Antiinfectives for systemic use | 3101 (37.8) | 1071 (42.1) |
| Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents | 276 (3.4) | 111 (4.3) |
| Musculo‐skeletal system | 2390 (29.1) | 770 (30.2) |
| Nervous system | 4883 (59.5) | 1674 (65.7) |
| Antiparasitic products, insecticides, and repellents | 243 (2.9) | 79 (3.1) |
| Respiratory system | 1977 (24.0) | 616 (24.2) |
| Sensory organs | 1950 (23.7) | 656 (25.8) |
| Readmission or death within 30 days | 2546 (23.6) | |
| Readmission within 30 days (emergency only) | 1121 (10.4) | |
| Death within 30 days | 1574 (14.6) | |
ARIA, Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia; ATC, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Index; BB, beta‐blocker; GP, general practitioner; HF, heart failure; RAASi, renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system index; SD, standard deviation; SEIFA, Socio‐Economic Indexes for Areas.