Table 1. Baseline characteristics of patients sub-grouped according to the interquartile range of the discharge heart rate.
| N (%)/mean (SD) | Group 1 (discharge HR ≤ 70) (n = 384) | Group 2 (71 ≤ discharge HR ≤ 80) (n = 362) | Group 3 (81 ≤ discharge HR ≤ 90) (n = 366) | Group 4 (discharge HR ≥ 91) (n = 346) | p-value |
| Age (year) | 65.3 (16.0) | 65.6 (15.4) | 62.4 (15.4) | 59.1 (17.3) | < 0.001 |
| Sex (woman) | 108 (28.1%) | 103 (28.5%) | 98 (26.8%) | 96 (27.8%) | 0.96 |
| BMI | 25.1 (4.76) | 25.2 (5.23) | 24.9 (5.02) | 25.9 (7.44) | 0.08 |
| Smoking | 190 (49.5%) | 176 (48.6%) | 197 (53.8%) | 175 (50.6%) | 0.52 |
| Alcohol | 129 (33.6%) | 132 (36.5%) | 133 (36.3%) | 108 (31.2%) | 0.40 |
| History of diabetes | 149 (38.8%) | 152 (42.0%) | 172 (47.0%) | 163 (47.1%) | 0.06 |
| History of dyslipidemia | 83 (21.6%) | 103 (28.5%) | 73 (20.0%) | 70 (20.2%) | 0.019 |
| History of CAD | 166 (43.2%) | 159 (43.9%) | 156 (42.6%) | 122 (35.3%) | 0.07 |
| Medications | |||||
| ACEI or ARB | 247 (64.3%) | 219 (60.8%) | 221 (60.9%) | 207 (60.9%) | 0.70 |
| Beta-blocker | 253 (65.9%) | 222 (61.7%) | 214 (59.0%) | 174 (51.2%) | 0.001 |
| Diuretics | 320 (83.3%) | 282 (78.3%) | 307 (84.6%) | 282 (82.9%) | 0.14 |
| Digoxin | 93 (24.2%) | 84 (23.3%) | 100 (27.6%) | 102 (30%) | 0.16 |
| Nitrates | 145 (37.8%) | 133 (36.9%) | 130 (35.8%) | 115 (33.8%) | 0.72 |
| Hydralazine | 25 (6.51%) | 14 (3.9%) | 17 (4.68%) | 15 (4.41%) | 0.37 |
| BNP (pg/mL) | 1757.3 (1588.2) | 1600.5 (1352.4) | 1702.1 (1530.3) | 1737.1 (1632.2) | 0.85 |
| Hb (g/dL) | 12.4 (2.4) | 11.5 (2.2) | 12.1 (2.5) | 12.2 (2.4) | 0.008 |
| Cre (mg/dL) | 2.1 (5.0) | 1.8 (2.0) | 1.7 (1.5) | 1.5 (1.5) | 0.28 |
| BUN (mg/dL) | 34.6 (23.0) | 35.5 (26.5) | 33.1 (23.7) | 32 (22.1) | 0.44 |
| NYHA Class | 0.97 | ||||
| Classes 1 and 2 | 274 (71.4%) | 266 (73.5%) | 270 (73.8%) | 252 (72.8%) | |
| Class 3 | 88 (22.9%) | 80 (22.1%) | 80 (21.9%) | 79 (22.8%) | |
| Class 4 | 22 (5.73%) | 16 (4.42%) | 16 (4.37%) | 15 (4.34%) | |
| LVEF (%) | 32.6 (9.64) | 31.0 (9.47) | 32.4 (10.6) | 29.49 (11.0) | 0.010 |
| Troponin I (ng/mL) | 3.27 (13.5) | 2.02 (8.97) | 1.54 (7.82) | 2.89 (14.8) | 0.31 |
| Rhythm | 0.006 | ||||
| Sinus | 215 (59.4%) | 230 (67.7%) | 232 (67.4%) | 239 (74.0%) | |
| Atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter | 126 (34.81%) | 97 (28.5%) | 96 (27.9%) | 69 (21.4%) | |
| Paced | 21 (5.8%) | 13 (3.82%) | 16 (4.65%) | 15 (4.64%) |
ACEI, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB, angiotensin receptor blocker; BMI, body mass index; BNP, brain natriuretic peptide; BUN, blood urea nitrogen; CAD, coronary artery disease; Cre, creatinine; Hb, hemoglobin; HR, heart rate; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; NYHA, New York Heart Association; SD, standard deviation.