[Cross-sectional study of heart failure of patients intaked in an Internal Medicine Service in the third level hospital in mixed area. Part III: mortality analysis]. / Análisis transversal de la insuficiencia cardiaca en pacientes de un Servicio de Medicina Interna de un hospital de tercer nivel de área mixta (rural y urbana). Parte III: análisis de mortalidad.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the characteristics of the deceased in intaked patients by heart failure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study of the intaked patients in the Internal Medicine Service in the Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela between 1999 to 2003. The variables analized were: sex, age, days of hospital stay, number of intaked by failure cardiac, reason for admission (guide symptom), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, fibrillation atrium, previous treatment with beta-blockers, blood pressure in the admission moment, to make echocardiography, disfunction systolic, etiology, deceased, treatment at the end. The statistical analysis was performed with cualitative and cuantitative measures, chi-cuadrado and t-student. RESULTS: 248 patients were accepted for the study, with the mortality rate rising 8.6% (21 patients). We did not observed differences between sexes, but the median age in death patients was greater than other patients. The median income was 5 days, letter than study population. The hypertension prevalence (30 vs. 42.6%, p = 0.27) and ischemic cardiopathy (30 vs. 27.7%, p = 0.82) did not showed differences with the population. The hypertension prevalence in women (16.7 vs. 35.7%, p = 0.21) and the ischemic cardiopathy prevalence in men (50 vs. 21.4%, p = 0.20) did not showed differences. It made echocardiography in 21.0% of death patients, p = 0.76. The systolic disfunction prevalence was bigger in death patients (80 vs. 41.3%), this difference was not significant statistically. CONCLUSIONS: The older patients showed letter survival. We did not observe any influence of sex or left ventricular systolic function on mortality in patients with heart failure.