Analysis of clinical characteristics and risk factors for chronic heart failure in the elderly

Objective To investigate the clinical features and risk factors for chronic heart failure in elderly patients. Methods The 2, 407 chronic heart failure patients were enrolled, including 1, 513 elderly patients (62.9%) (aged≥65 years). Risk factors for chronic heart failure, clinical features, biochemical and physical examination were retrospectively analyzed. The effects of different factors on patients with different age were analyzed by Logistic regression analysis. Results Compared with the young and middle-aged patients, the higher prevalences of New York Heart Association functional classification (NAFC), diabetes, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, anemia, renal insufficiency and hyperuricemia were found, but the percentages of males, smoker, patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease and hyperlipidemia were reduced in elderly patients. The levels of blood creatinine, high density lipoprotein (HDL), serum potassium, hemoglobin, albumin, pre-albumin, total cholesterol (TC), lower density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG) and diastolic blood pressure were lower, but left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and systolic blood pressure were higher, in the elderly patients than in young and middle-aged patients. Elderly patients had higher usage rates of stain and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), but lower usage rate of β–blocker as compared with young and middle-aged patients. In elderly patients, logistic regression analysis revealed that gender (OR=1.89, 95%CI: 1.566-2.285), a history of ischemic heart disease (OR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.457-2.243), hypertension (OR=1.87, 95%CI: 1.462-2.389), anemia (OR=2.66, 95%CI: 2.197-3.211), hyperuricemia (OR=1.41, 95%CI: 1.186-1.678) were significantly related with chronic heart failure, whilein young and middle-aged patients, dilated cardiomyopathy (OR=0.49, 95%CI 0.351-0.689), hyperlipidemia (OR=0.53, 95%CI: 0.433-0.641), smoking (OR=0.79, 95%CI: 0.652-0.966) were significantly related with chronic heart failure. Conclusions Gender, ischemic heart? disease, hypertension, anemia, hyperuricemia are the independent risk factors for chronic heart failure in elderly patients. Key words: Ventricular dycfunction; Risk factors