Hospital admissions and outcomes for systolic and diastolic heart failure in Spain between 2016 and 2019: A population-based study

Abstract

Background and purposeIn Spain there is a lack of population data that specifically compare hospitalization for systolic and diastolic heart failure (HF). We assessed clinical characteristics, in-hospital mortality and 30-day cardiovascular readmission rates differentiating by HF type. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of patients discharged with the principal diagnosis of HF from The National Health System’ acute hospital during 2016–2019, distinguishing between systolic and diastolic HF. The source of the data was the Minimum Basic Data Set. The risk-standardized in-hospital mortality ratio and risk-standardized 30-day cardiovascular readmission ratio were calculated using multilevel risk adjustment models. Results190,200 episodes of HF were selected. Of these, 163,727 (86.1%) were classified as diastolic HF and were characterized by older age, higher proportion of women, diabetes mellitus, dementia and renal failure than those with systolic HF. In the multilevel risk adjustment models, diastolic HF was a protective factor for both in-hospital mortality (Odds ratio-OR-: 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75−0.83; p < 0.001) and 30-day cardiovascular readmission versus systolic HF (OR: 0.93; 95%CI: 0.88−0.97; p = 0.002). ConclusionsIn Spain, between 2016 and 2019, hospitalization episodes for HF were mostly due to diastolic HF. According to the multilevel risk adjustment models, diastolic HF compared to systolic HF was a protective factor for both in-hospital mortality and 30-day cardiovascular readmission.