Table 1.
Patient characteristics.
| Characteristics | Heart failure, (n = 435) | LVAD (n = 145) | Total (n = 580) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 57.29 (14.27) | 57.53 (14.16) | 57.35 (14.23) | 0.858 |
| Race, n (%) | ||||
| White | 260 (59.8) | 104 (71.23) | 364 (62.76) | 0.014 |
| African American | 148 (34.10) | 28 (19.18) | 176 (30.34) | 0.010 |
| Other | 26 (5.99) | 14 (9.59) | 40 (6.90) | 0.562 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.914 | |||
| Women | 88 (20.28) | 29 (19.86) | 117 (20.17) | 0.99 |
| Men | 346 (79.72) | 117 (80.14) | 463 (79.83) | 0.99 |
| Prior Location (before coming to ED) | ||||
| Home | 309 (72.03) | 102 (70.34) | 411 (71.60) | 0.759 |
| Skilled nursing facility | 28 (6.53) | 3 (2.07) | 31 (5.40) | 0.053 |
| Long-term acute care facility | 5 (1.17) | 1 (0.69) | 6 (1.05) | 0.063 |
| Public place | 33 (7.69) | 9 (6.21) | 42 (7.32) | 0.562 |
| Unknown | 15 (3.50) | 0 | 15 (2.61) | 0.016 |
| ED-ED transfer | 39 (9.09) | 30 (20.69) | 69 (12.02) | <0.001 |
| Route to ED | ||||
| Ambulance | 238 (54.84) | 53 (36.3) | 291 (50.17) | <0.001 |
| Personal vehicle | 160 (36.87) | 71 (48.63) | 231 (39.83) | 0.012 |
| Air | 6 (1.38) | 8 (5.48) | 14 (2.14) | 0.005 |
| Others | 30 (6.91) | 14 (9.59) | 44 (7.59) | 0.291 |
| Chief complaint | ||||
| Altered mentation, fatigue, malaise, headache/ dizziness, falls | 65 (14.98) | 35 (23.97) | 100 (17.24) | 0.013 |
| Musculoskeletal pain, trauma | 37 (8.53) | 7 (4.79) | 44 (7.59) | 0.141 |
| Abnormal vitals/labs | 19 (4.38) | 9 (6.16) | 28 (4.83) | 0.317 |
| LVAD alarm | 0 | 8 (5.48) | 8 (1.38) | <0.001 |
| Fever | 12 (2.76) | 8 (5.48) | 20 (3.45) | 0.101 |
| Bleeding | 6 (1.38) | 17 (11.64) | 23 (3.97) | <0.001 |
| Dyspnea, cough, or wheezing | 109 (25.12) | 18 (12.33) | 127 (21.9) | 0.001 |
| Chest pain / discomfort | 67 (15.44) | 17 (11.64) | 84 (14.48) | 0.260 |
| Abdominal pain, vomit | 54 (12.44) | 16 (10.96) | 70 (12.07) | 0.634 |
| Stroke | 10 (2.3) | 3 (2.05) | 13 (2.234) | 0.86 |
| Others | 51 (11.75) | 7 (4.79) | 58 (10.0) | 0.009 |
ED = emergency department, LVAD = left ventricular assist device.
p-values for categorical variables are calculated using Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test.