Digoxin Initiation and Outcomes in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Abstract Background Digoxin reduces the risk of heart failure hospitalization in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Less is known about this association in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), the examination of which was the objective of the current study. Methods In the Medicare-linked OPTIMIZE-HF registry, 7374 patients hospitalized for HF had ejection fraction ≥50% who were not receiving digoxin before admission. Of these, 5675 had a heart rate ≥50 beats/minute, an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥30 mL/min/1.73 m2 or did not receive inpatient dialysis, and digoxin was initiated in 524 of these patients. Using propensity scores for digoxin initiation, calculated for each of the 5675 patients, we assembled a matched cohort of 513 pairs of patients initiated and not initiated on digoxin, balanced on 58 baseline characteristics (mean age, 80 years; 66% women; 8% African American). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes associated with digoxin initiation were estimated in the matched cohort. Results Among the 1026 matched patients with HFpEF, 30-day heart failure readmission occurred in 6% and 9% of patients initiated and not initiated on digoxin, respectively (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.45–1.10; p=0.124). HRs (95% CIs) for 30-day all-cause readmission and all-cause mortality associated with digoxin initiation were 0.95 (0.73–1.23; p=0.689) and 0.93 (0.55–1.56; p=0.773), respectively. Digoxin initiation had no association with 6-year outcomes. Conclusion Digoxin initiation before hospital discharge was not associated with 30-day or 6-year outcomes in older hospitalized patients with HFpEF.