Association of Heart Failure Admission with Age, Sex, Risk Factors and Co-Morbidities in Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Heart failure is a significant medical and societal concern worldwide. It continues to be a major source of morbidity and mortality and causes a significant and rising cost on the health care system. There is a seasonal fluctuation in the number of people who are admitted to hospitals for heart failure, with winter seeing the highest rate. Objective: To assess the seasonal variation of heart failure admission with age, sex, risk factors and co-morbidities in tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among the patients hospitalized with heart failure at the Department of Cardiology, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Dhaka, between April 2015 and March 2016. The history, clinical characteristics, and investigational data were used to diagnosis the patients. Statistical tests were used to examine the impact of seasonal fluctuation on patients admitted with heart failure. Results: In the age range of 41 to 60 years, 302 patients with heart failure at the highest level (51.7%) were hospitalized. Heart failure admission patients were 2.8 times more likely to be male than female, with a mean age of 55.18±12.42 years. Heart failure patients in the age ranges of 20 to 40, 41 to 60, and 61 to 80 years were hospitalized more frequently in the winter and post-monsoon. Seasons and gender had a statistically significant relationship (p=0.030). Smoking is the greatest risk factor compared to other risk factors in all seasons, and all risk factors were more prevalent in the winter than they were in other seasons. Conclusion: This study may help improve the healthcare system and alter how easily accessible hospital resources such as emergency rooms are throughout the winter. More information regarding the heart failure events that occur throughout the winter should be made available to patients and general practitioners.