Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
A Nationwide, Population-Based Study on Specialized Care for Acute Heart Failure Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Retrospective cohort study
- nationwide
- population-based
- registry linkage
Authors' conclusion
Despite the disruption of healthcare systems, the clinical characteristics of patients admitted with HF were similar and the overall standard of care was maintained throughout the pandemic. Long-term survival of patients hospitalized with HF continued to improve after COVID-19, especially for HFrEF.
Study context
- Population
- Patients admitted to hospital with heart failure (HF), National Heart Failure Audit linked to national hospitalization and death records51% HFrEF (n = 116,990)
- Participants
- 227,250 patients
- Exposure
- Pre-COVID vs COVID vs late/post-COVID periods
Main finding
Long-term outcomes over time
Hazard ratio
0.92
95% CI 0.90–0.95
P < 0.001
Over time vs Pre-COVID
HR 0.92 (95% CI 0.90–0.95); P < 0.001
As reported in the abstract
- In-hospital management and specialized cardiology care maintained; increasing % discharged on disease-modifying medications over time
- P < 0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HR (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term outcomes with specialized cardiology care, by HF type — Specialized cardiology care vs Pre-COVID · HFrEF | 0.79 (0.77–0.82) | P < 0.001 | |
| Long-term outcomes with specialized cardiology care, by HF type — Specialized cardiology care vs Pre-COVID · non-HFrEF | 0.87 (0.85–0.90) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Hazard ratio (log scale) |
Original publication
A Nationwide, Population-Based Study on Specialized Care for Acute Heart Failure Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. Eur J Heart Fail. Published 4 June 2024. doi:10.1002/ejhf.3306
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it