| Factors | Length of stay (days)median (IQR) | p Value |
| Age | <0.001 | |
| ⩽75 | 7 (4 to 13) | |
| >75 | 8 (4 to 15) | |
| Gender | <0.001 | |
| Female | 8 (4 to 15) | |
| Male | 7 (4 to 14) | |
| Ward transferred to | ||
| Elderly | 10 (6 to 17) | <0.001 |
| Critical care | 8 (5 to 14) | |
| Medical | 8 (5 to 14) | |
| Surgical | 9 (5 to 19) | |
| NYHA class | <0.001 | |
| 1 | 7 (3 to 12) | |
| 2 | 7 (3 to 12) | |
| 3 | 8 (4 to 14) | |
| 4 | 9 (5 to 15) | |
| Ordinal severity score | <0.001 | |
| Patients with none of criteria below | 7 (4 to 14) | |
| Pulmonary oedema | 8 (4 to 14) | |
| Systolic BP <90 mm Hg | 9 (5 to 15) | |
| IV inotropes required | 12 (8 to 21) | |
| Consultant episodes | <0.001 | |
| Did not change consultant | 7 (4 to 13) | |
| Did change consultant | 9 (6 to 16) | |
| Type of consultant changed to | 0.409 | |
| Non HF specialist | 10 (6 to 16) | |
| HF specialist | 9 (6 to 15) | |
| Further change of consultant | <0.001 | |
| No | 9 (5 to 15) | |
| Yes | 14 (8 to 24) |
BP, blood pressure; HF, heart failure; IQR, interquartile range; NYHA, New York Heart Association.