Table 1.
Patient characteristics
| Functional decline | No functional decline | P value | |
| n=528 | n=3027 | ||
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| Age, years | 85 (80–89) | 79 (70–85) | <0.001 |
| ≥80 years*† | 399 (76) | 1407 (46) | <0.001 |
| Women*† | 294 (56) | 1278 (42) | <0.001 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 22.0±4.0 | 23.1±4.5 | <0.001 |
| ≤22 kg/m2*† | 269 (55) | 1281 (44) | <0.001 |
| Medical history | |||
| Heart failure hospitalisation*† | 186 (36) | 1077 (36) | 0.92 |
| Atrial fibrillation or flutter | 220 (42) | 1263 (42) | 0.98 |
| Hypertension*† | 406 (77) | 2174 (72) | 0.02 |
| Diabetes mellitus*† | 187 (35) | 1145 (38) | 0.29 |
| Myocardial infarction*† | 112 (21) | 681 (23) | 0.51 |
| Stroke*† | 125 (24) | 432 (14) | <0.001 |
| Currently smoking*† | 28 (5.5) | 425 (14) | <0.001 |
| Malignancy | 97 (18) | 419 (14) | 0.006 |
| Chronic lung disease*† | 41 (7.8) | 247 (8.2) | 0.76 |
| Dementia*† | 175 (33) | 423 (14) | <0.001 |
| Social background on admission | |||
| Poor medical adherence | 100 (19) | 498 (16) | 0.16 |
| Living alone*† | 127 (24) | 652 (22) | 0.20 |
| Public assistance | 24 (4.6) | 186 (6.1) | 0.14 |
| Functional status before admission | |||
| Ambulatory*† | 420 (80) | 2529 (84) | 0.02 |
| Use of wheelchair (outdoor only) | 80 (15) | 192 (6.3) | <0.001 |
| Use of wheelchair (outdoor and indoor) | 28 (5.3) | 306 (10) | <0.001 |
| Origin | |||
| Ischaemic | 134 (25) | 820 (27) | 0.41 |
| Acute coronary syndrome*† | 36 (6.8) | 166 (5.5) | 0.22 |
| Hypertensive | 131 (25) | 754 (25) | 0.96 |
| Valvular | 124 (23) | 565 (19) | <0.001 |
| Cardiomyopathy | 54 (10) | 492 (16) | <0.001 |
| Vital signs and symptoms on presentation | |||
| BP, mm Hg | |||
| Systolic BP | 144±32 | 149±35 | 0.003 |
| Systolic BP ≥140 mm Hg | 275 (53) | 1741 (58) | 0.03 |
| Systolic BP <90 mm Hg*† | 12 (2.3) | 76 (2.5) | 0.76 |
| Diastolic BP | 81±23 | 86±24 | <0.001 |
| Heart rate, beats/min | 93±27 | 96±28 | 0.001 |
| <60 beats/min*† | 44 (8.5) | 195 (6.5) | 0.11 |
| Body temperature, °C | 36.6±0.7 | 36.5±0.6 | <0.001 |
| ≥37.5 °C*† | 58 (11) | 154 (5.3) | <0.001 |
| Rhythms on presentation | |||
| Sinus rhythm | 280 (53) | 1715 (57) | 0.12 |
| Atrial fibrillation or flutter*† | 198 (38) | 1085 (36) | 0.47 |
| NYHA class III or IV*† | 482 (92) | 2598 (73) | <0.001 |
| Tests on admission | |||
| LVEF | 48±16 | 46±16 | 0.02 |
| HFrEF (EF <40%)*† | 167 (32) | 1148 (38) | 0.006 |
| HFmrEF (EF 40%–49%) | 117 (22) | 566 (19) | 0.06 |
| HFpEF (EF ≥50%) | 242 (46) | 1305 (43) | 0.24 |
| Haemoglobin, g/L | 110±21 | 117±24 | <0.001 |
| Anaemia*†‡ | 401 (76) | 1946 (64) | <0.001 |
| BNP, pg/mL | 782 (448–1410) | 687 (375–1214) | <0.001 |
| NT-proBNP, pg/mL | 10 795 (3450–18 000) | 5416 (2629–11 438) | 0.001 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.2 (0.8–1.6) | 1.1 (0.8–1.6) | 0.21 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | 38 (24–54) | 46 (30–62) | <0.001 |
| <30 mL/min/1.73 m2*† | 195 (37) | 747 (25) | <0.001 |
| Blood urea nitrogen, mg/dL | 28 (20–39) | 23 (17–33) | <0.001 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.3±0.5 | 3.5±0.5 | <0.001 |
| <3.0 g/dL*† | 112 (22) | 332 (11) | <0.001 |
| Sodium, mEq/L | 138±4.7 | 139±4.1 | <0.001 |
| <135 mEq/L*† | 83 (16) | 325 (11) | 0.001 |
| Potassium, mEq/L | 4.3±0.8 | 4.2±0.6 | 0.03 |
| Clinical signs and symptoms at discharge | |||
| Oedema† | 89 (17) | 320 (11) | <0.001 |
| General malaise† | 152 (31) | 388 (14) | <0.001 |
| Medications at discharge | |||
| Number of drugs prescribed | 8 (6–11) | 9 (6–11) | 0.12 |
| Loop diuretics† | 428 (81) | 2472 (82) | 0.74 |
| ACEI or ARB† | 242 (46) | 1838 (61) | <0.001 |
| MRA† | 208 (39) | 1409 (47) | 0.002 |
| Beta blocker† | 287 (54) | 2101 (69) | <0.001 |
| Tolvaptan | 76 (14) | 299 (9.9) | 0.002 |
| Functional status at discharge | |||
| Ambulatory | 0 | 2682 (89) | <0.001 |
| Use of wheelchair (outdoor only) | 184 (35) | 160 (5.3) | <0.001 |
| Use of wheelchair (outdoor and indoor) | 261 (49) | 185 (6.1) | <0.0001 |
| Bedridden | 83 (16) | 0 | <0.001 |
| Living place after discharge | |||
| Home | 247 (47) | 2709 (90) | <0.001 |
| Hospital | 225 (43) | 180 (6.0) | <0.001 |
| Institution for the aged | 50 (9.5) | 114 (3.8) | <0.001 |
| Other | 4 (0.8) | 17 (0.6) | 0.59 |
Continuous variables are presented as mean±SD or median with (IQR). Categorical variables are presented as number (percentage).
*Risk-adjusting variables were selected for multivariable logistic regression models.
†Risk-adjusting variables were selected for multivariable Cox proportional hazard models.
‡Defined by the WHO criteria (haemoglobin <12 g/dL for women and <13 g/dL for men).
ACEI, ACE inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; BMI, body mass index; BNP, brain-type natriuretic peptide; BP, blood pressure; EF, ejection fraction; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; HFmrEF, heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction; HFpEF, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; HFrEF, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; NT-proBNP, N-terminal-proBNP; NYHA, New York Heart Association.