Table 1.
Baseline characteristics in the whole sample and according to the care settings
| General characteristics, % (N) | Whole sample | Acute care | Rehabilitation care | Nursing home | pa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 1478 | N = 382 | N = 322 | N = 774 | ||
| Heart failure type | |||||
| Decompensated | 21.4 (316) | 51.2 (195) | 16.6 (53) | 8.79 (68) | <.0001 |
| Stable | 78.6 (1158) | 48.8 (186) | 83.4 (266) | 91.2 (706) | |
| Age (years), M (SD) | 88.2 (5.2) | 87.8 (4.9) | 87.3 (5.2) | 88.7 (5.3) | <.0001 |
| Women | 68.9 (1014) | 61.4 (234) | 61.4 (197) | 75.7 (583) | <.0001 |
| Weight (Kg), M (SD) | 64.6 (15.4) | 66.8 (16.7) | 63.4 (15.4) | 64.1 (14.7) | 0.005 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg), M (SD) | 126 (19) | 126 (20) | 124 (19) | 127 (18) | 0.04 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg), M (SD) | 68.9 (11.5) | 68.7 (12.3) | 66.9 (10.8) | 69.9 (11.4) | 0.0005 |
| Orthostatic hypotension | 18.5 (137) | 15.5 (28) | 16.7 (26) | 20.6 (83) | 0.26 |
| Heart rate (beats per minute), M (SD) | 74.0 (12.7) | 76.3 (13.8) | 74.9 (13.0) | 72.4 (11.7) | <.0001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 22.1 (326) | 23.0 (88) | 25.2 (81) | 20.3 (157) | 0.18 |
| Hypertension | 77.6 (1144) | 76.4 (291) | 76.9 (594) | 80.4 (259) | 0.37 |
| History of stroke | 19.8 (293) | 20.4 (78) | 17.7 (57) | 20.4 (158) | 0.55 |
| History of myocardial infarction | 28.5 (421) | 32.8 (125) | 37.2 (119) | 22.9 (177) | <.0001 |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 20.0 (295) | 20.2 (77) | 19.6 (152) | 20.6 (66) | 0.93 |
| Acute infection | 44.1 (436) | 46.9 (149) | 42.6 (106) | 43.0 (181) | 0.49 |
| Dementia | 52.3 (772) | 39.0 (149) | 46.0 (148) | 61.4 (475) | <.0001 |
| Depression | 34.1 (503) | 22.8 (87) | 32.7 (105) | 40.2 (311) | <.0001 |
| History of falls | 32.5 (480) | 33.0 (126) | 44.1 (142) | 27.4 (212) | <.0001 |
| COPD | 24.6 (363) | 24.9 (95) | 22.4 (72) | 25.3 (196) | 0.58 |
| Cancer | 16.3 (241) | 16.2 (62) | 18.9 (61) | 15.2 (118) | 0.32 |
| eGFR (mL/min), M (SD) | 35.1 (16.3) | 33.7 (15.7) | 35.5 (16.2) | 35.6 (17.5) | 0.19 |
| Hemoglobin (g/dL), M (SD) | 11.8 (1.7) | 11.6 (1.8) | 11.5 (1.5) | 12.1 (1.6) | <.0001 |
| Anemia | 59.9 (864) | 63.5 (240) | 53.7 (400) | 70.2 (224) | <.0001 |
| Albumin (g/L), M (SD) | 32.7 (5.2) | 32.1 (5.7) | 31.6 (5.1) | 33.8 (4.8) | <.0001 |
| Malnutrition (albumin < 35 g/l) | 64.1 (754) | 65.9 (220) | 60.1 (336) | 70.0 (198) | 0.01 |
| Brain natriuretic peptide (pg/mL), M (SD) | 993 (1793) | 1329 (2282) | 1208 (1858) | 622 (1160) | 0.004 |
| NTproBNP (pg/mL), M (SD) | 5926 (9587) | 8489 (12237) | 7165 (9517) | 3317 (6000) | <.0001 |
| LVEF %, M (SD) | 52.9 (14.4) | 51.3 (15.6) | 50.0 (14.4) | 55.7 (13.1) | <.0001 |
| LVEF level in 3 classes | |||||
| LVEF < 40% | 15.6 (120) | 18.8 (41) | 22.1 (44) | 9.92 (35) | |
| LVEF 40–49% | 14.8 (114) | 13.8 (30) | 16.6 (33) | 14.4 (51) | 0.0009 |
| LVEF ≥50% | 69.6 (536) | 67.4 (147) | 61.3 (122) | 75.6 (267) | |
| Atrial fibrillation | 43.2 (614) | 48.0 (181) | 45.1 (142) | 39.9 (291) | 0.03 |
| Antiplatelet drugs | 44.4 (655) | 43.0 (163) | 46.6 (150) | 44.2 (342) | 0.63 |
| Statins | 21.4 (316) | 23.9 (91) | 27.4 (88) | 17.7 (137) | 0.0007 |
| Anticoagulants | 47.0 (694) | 63.9 (244) | 60.2 (194) | 33.1 (256) | <.0001 |
| Total number of drugs, M (SD) | 8.43 (3.29) | 8.30 (3.43) | 8.71 (3.40) | 8.37 (3.17) | 0.22 |
| Age-adjusted Charlson score, M (SD) | 8.49 (2.21) | 8.48 (2.27) | 8.42 (1.99) | 8.66 (2.60) | 0.25 |
% (N) percentage (number); M (SD) mean (standard deviation), eGFR estimated glomerular filtration rate calculated with Cockcroft formula, LVEF left ventricular ejection fraction, COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
a ANOVA test or χ2