A Study of Clinical Profile and Outcome of Acute Heart Failure in Elderly Patients.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The significant increase of life expectancies over the last few decades, has lead to a major change in the morbidity and mortality profile of elders. Heart Failure (HF) is predominantly a disorder of the elderly with rates increasing exponentially with time. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Observational and prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital. The study included all patients >60 years of age diagnosed as acute heart failure as per Boston Criteria. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were excluded. Patients were followed till either discharge or death. RESULTS: Total 56 patients were enrolled for the study. Male and female formed 53.57% and 46.43% of study population respectively. Based on Ejection fraction on 2D Echocardiography Diastolic HF (EF >40%) was seen in 30 patients (53.57%) while systolic dysfunction was seen in 26 patients (46.43%). As per Boston score criteria, maximum patient 33 (66.07) fell into range of 8-12 while remaining had score range 5-7. None of the patients were in lesser score range of 1-4. Out of 56 patients 44 (78.57%) were discharged 12 (21.43%) patients expired.