Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction with and without history of atrial fibrillation stratified by digoxin use in the overall population
| History of AF | No history of AF | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missing (%) | No digoxin | Digoxin | P | Missing (%) | No digoxin | Digoxin | P | |
| n | 15 699 | 6420 | 19 773 | 564 | ||||
| Male genderb | 0.0 | 11 806 (75.2) | 4446 (69.3) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 13 492 (68.2) | 370 (65.6) | 0.202 |
| Age (years) | 0.0 | 76.0 [69.0, 83.0] | 74.0 [66.0, 81.0] | <0.001 | 0.0 | 70.0 [61.0, 79.0] | 67.0 [59.0, 78.0] | 0.004 |
| Age ≥75 yearsb | 0.0 | 8981 (57.2) | 3140 (48.9) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 7368 (37.3) | 197 (34.9) | 0.277 |
| Outpatientsb | 0.0 | 8471 (54.0) | 3053 (47.6) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 11 617 (58.8) | 250 (44.3) | <0.001 |
| Year of inclusionb | 0.0 | <0.001 | 0.0 | <0.001 | ||||
| 2005–10 | 5099 (32.5) | 2759 (43.0) | 7174 (36.3) | 358 (63.5) | ||||
| . 2011–15 | 6135 (39.1) | 2383 (37.1) | 7255 (36.7) | 136 (24.1) | ||||
| . 2016–18 | 4465 (28.4) | 1278 (19.9) | 5344 (27.0) | 70 (12.4) | ||||
| Childrenb | 0.0 | 13 224 (84.2) | 5317 (82.8) | 0.010 | 0.0 | 15 975 (80.8) | 429 (76.1) | 0.006 |
| Living alone | 0.2 | 7122 (45.5) | 3083 (48.1) | <0.001 | 0.4 | 9063 (46.0) | 274 (48.8) | 0.198 |
| Education levelb | 1.9 | 0.040 | 2.2 | 0.062 | ||||
| Compulsory | 7002 (45.4) | 2744 (43.6) | 8100 (41.9) | 243 (44.8) | ||||
| Secondary | 5864 (38.1) | 2471 (39.2) | 8109 (41.9) | 231 (42.6) | ||||
| University | 2541 (16.5) | 1083 (17.2) | 3136 (16.2) | 68 (12.5) | ||||
| Income above mediana,b | 0.2 | 7713 (49.2) | 3296 (51.5) | 0.003 | 0.4 | 9931 (50.4) | 253 (45.1) | 0.015 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 39.7 | 26.3 [23.4, 29.8] | 25.9 [23.1, 29.7] | 0.004 | 39.9 | 26.2 [23.3, 29.9] | 25.0 [22.2, 28.4] | <0.001 |
| BMIb ≥30 kg/m2 | 39.7 | 2314 (24.2) | 898 (23.7) | 0.491 | 39.9 | 2945 (24.7) | 59 (19.4) | 0.040 |
| HF history ≥6 mb | 2.2 | 8279 (54.0) | 3213 (50.9) | <0.001 | 2.1 | 7821 (40.4) | 368 (65.9) | <0.001 |
| NYHA classb | 27.3 | 0.162 | 25.3 | <0.001 | ||||
| I | 878 (7.8) | 323 (6.8) | 1626 (11.0) | 34 (7.9) | ||||
| II | 5047 (47.8) | 2147 (45.2) | 7436 (50.4) | 161 (37.4) | ||||
| III | 4944 (43.7) | 2097 (44.2) | 5283 (35.8) | 206 (47.8) | ||||
| IV | 457 (4.0) | 179 (3.8) | 419 (2.8) | 30 (7.0) | ||||
| SBP (mmHg) | 1.8 | 120.0 [110.0, 139.0] | 120.0 [110.0, 135.0] | <0.001 | 1.7 | 125.0 [110.0, 140.0] | 115.0 [100.0, 130.0] | <0.001 |
| DBP (mmHg) | 1.7 | 73.0 [65.0, 80.0] | 74.0 [65.0, 80.0] | 0.504 | 1.6 | 70.0 [65.0, 80.0] | 70.0 [60.0, 80.0] | <0.001 |
| MBP (mmHg) | 1.7 | 90.0 [81.7, 100.0] | 90.0 [81.3, 99.0] | 0.068 | 1.6 | 90.0 [81.7, 100.0] | 83.3 [76.7, 93.3] | <0.001 |
| MBP >90 mmHgb | 1.7 | 7379 (47.8) | 2950 (46.8) | 0.170 | 1.6 | 9301 (47.8) | 174 (31.4) | <0.001 |
| Duration AF (days) | 7.1 | 536.0 [43.0, 1908.5] | 467.0 [35.0, 2004.5] | 0.064 | — | — | — | — |
| ECG (%) | 1.9 | <0.001 | 2.5 | — | — | — | ||
| Sinus rhythm | 4280 (27.8) | 734 (11.6) | 17767 (91.9) | 469 (85.7) | ||||
| AF | 8857 (57.6) | 4972 (78.7) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | ||||
| Paced/other | 2244 (14.6) | 609 (9.6) | 1572 (8.1) | 78 (14.3) | ||||
| HR (b.p.m.) | 2.7 | 74.0 [65.0, 86.0] | 79.0 [68.0, 90.0] | <0.001 | 2.6 | 70.0 [62.0, 80.0] | 72.0 [65.0, 83.0] | <0.001 |
| HR ≥70 b.p.m.b | 2.7 | 8866 (57.9) | 4168 (67.0) | <0.001 | 2.6 | 9215 (47.8) | 304 (56.4) | <0.001 |
| Current smokerb | 22.5 | 1264 (10.4) | 631 (12.6) | 0.003 | 18.6 | 2827 (17.6) | 76 (17.1) | 0.859 |
| Diabetesb | 0.0 | 4243 (27.0) | 1642 (25.6) | 0.028 | 0.0 | 5290 (26.8) | 199 (35.3) | <0.001 |
| Hypertensionb | 0.0 | 10 134 (64.6) | 3644 (56.8) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 11 486 (58.1) | 323 (57.3) | 0.730 |
| COPDb | 0.0 | 1867 (11.9) | 811 (12.6) | 0.131 | 0.0 | 2331 (11.8) | 73 (12.9) | 0.441 |
| Strokeb | 0.0 | 2668 (17.0) | 915 (14.3) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 2080 (10.5) | 61 (10.8) | 0.878 |
| IHDb | 0.0 | 8908 (56.7) | 2862 (44.6) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 11 486 (58.1)) | 323 (57.3) | 0.730 |
| PADb | 0.0 | 1512 (9.6) | 463 (7.2) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 1616 (8.2) | 45 (8.0) | 0.930 |
| Valve diseaseb | 0.0 | 3239 (20.6) | 1204 (18.8) | 0.002 | 0.0 | 2705 (13.7) | 136 (24.1) | <0.001 |
| Cancerb | 0.0 | 2346 (14.9) | 844 (13.1) | 0.001 | 0.0 | 2311 (11.7) | 71 (12.6) | 0.555 |
| Liver diseaseb | 0.0 | 303 (1.9) | 146 (2.3) | 0.111 | 0.0 | 399 (2.0) | 25 (4.4) | <0.001 |
| ICD/CRTb | 1.2 | 1522 (9.8) | 512 (8.1) | <0.001 | 1.2 | 1507 (7.7) | 91 (16.2) | <0.001 |
| EF <30%b | 0.0 | 6926 (44.1) | 3358 (52.3) | <0.001 | 0.0 | 9897 (50.1) | 412 (73.0) | <0.001 |
| Haemoglobin (g/L) | 3.5 | 134.0 [121.0, 146.0] | 138.0 [125.0, 150.0] | <0.001 | 3.3 | 135.0 [123.0, 146.0] | 132.0 [120.0, 144.0] | 0.003 |
| Anaemiab | 3.5 | 5178 (34.3) | 1618 (25.9) | <0.001 | 3.3 | 5761 (30.1) | 194 (34.6) | 0.027 |
| GFR, (mL/min/1.73 m2) | 1.3 | 58.2 [42.4, 75.3] | 64.4 [49.1, 80.8] | <0.001 | 1.1 | 68.6 [50.6, 85.6] | 67.9 [50.1, 86.8] | 0.719 |
| GFRb | 1.3 | <0.001 | 1.1 | 0.691 | ||||
| . 30–60 | 6758 (43.6) | 2383 (37.6) | 6110 (31.3) | 181 (32.3) | ||||
| . ≥60 | 7299 (47.1) | 3683 (58.1) | 12 203 (62.4) | 348 (62.1) | ||||
| . ≤30 | 1441 (9.3) | 273 (4.3) | 1236 (6.3) | 31 (5.5) | ||||
| NT-ProBNP (pg/mL) | 49.1 | 3311.5 [1625.8, 7000.0] | 3464.5 [1815.5, 6770.8] | 0.075 | 47.4 | 2360.0 [890.0, 5835.5] | 3350.0 [1270.0, 7490.0] | <0.001 |
| NT-proBNP above medianb | 49.1 | 4618 (56.1) | 1703 (56.4) | 0.818 | 47.4 | 4525 (43.3) | 125 (49.0) | 0.082 |
| Serum potassium | 20.2 | 4.2 [3.9, 4.5] | 4.2 [3.9, 4.5] | 0.010 | 18.5 | 4.2 [3.9, 4.5] | 4.2 [4.0, 4.5] | 0.629 |
| Serum potassium groupsb | 20.2 | 0.004 | 18.5 | 0.718 | ||||
| . Normokalaemia | 11 824 (92.4) | 4524 (93.2) | 15 127 (93.4) | 347 (92.8) | ||||
| . Hypokalaemia | 525 (4.1) | 205 (4.2) | 583 (3.6) | 13 (3.5) | ||||
| . Hyperkalaemia | 452 (3.5) | 123 (2.5) | 489 (3.0) | 14 (3.7) | ||||
| Beta blockerb | 0.3 | 14 328 (91.6) | 6052 (94.5) | <0.001 | 0.3 | 17 958 (91.1) | 498 (89.1) | 0.127 |
| RASib | 1.2 | 13 820 (89.0) | 5737 (90.7) | <0.001 | 1.3 | 18 086 (92.6) | 502 (90.8) | 0.115 |
| MRAb | 0.7 | 5765 (36.9) | 2619 (41.1) | <0.001 | 0.6 | 7050 (35.9) | 299 (53.7) | <0.001 |
| Diureticsb | 0.4 | 12 603 (80.7) | 5356 (83.7) | <0.001 | 0.5 | 13 923 (70.7) | 477 (85.3) | <0.001 |
| Statinsb | 0.4 | 18 576 (52.6) | 2775 (39.9) | <0.001 | 0.4 | 11 000 (55.8) | 271 (48.5) | 0.001 |
| Nitratesb | 0.5 | 2100 (13.4) | 665 (10.4) | <0.001 | 0.4 | 2426 (12.3) | 98 (17.6) | <0.001 |
| ASAb | 0.5 | 4852 (31.0) | 1424 (22.3) | <0.001 | 0.4 | 12 761 (64.8) | 302 (54.1) | <0.001 |
| Anticoagulantb | 0.3 | 10 864 (69.4) | 5106 (79.8) | <0.001 | 0.5 | 2557 (13.0) | 167 (30.0) | <0.001 |
| FU in HF clinicb | 5.3 | 9282 (62.3) | 3558 (58.9) | <0.001 | 4.5 | 12 633 (66.9) | 282 (53.3) | <0.001 |
| FU locationb | 4.2 | 0.006 | 3.5 | 0.006 | ||||
| . Hospital | 10 877 (72.1) | 4531 (74.2) | 15 075 (79.0) | 403 (75.6) | ||||
| . Primary care | 3808 (25.3) | 1416 (23.2) | 3582 (18.8) | 108 (20.3) | ||||
| . Other | 396 (2.6) | 157 (2.6) | 3582 (18.8) | 108 (20.3) | ||||
AF, atrial fibrillation; ASA, acetylsalicylic acid; BMI, body mass index; CAD, coronary artery disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ECG, electrocardiogram; EF, ejection fraction; FU, follow-up; GFR, glomerular filtration rate; HF, heart failure; HR, heart rate; ICD/CRT, intracardiac defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy; IHD, ischaemic heart disease; MBP, mean blood pressure; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; NYHA, New York Heart Association; RASi, renin–angiotensin system inhibitor (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin receptor blocker, or angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor); PAD, peripheral artery disease; SBP, systolic blood pressure; and SMD, standardized mean difference.
aIncome above median for each year.
bIncluded in the multiple imputation model (although not necessarily imputed if there are no missing data) and logistic/Cox models.