Aims: Acute heart failure (AHF) has a poor prognosis. We evaluated 3- and 12-month mortality in different clinical classes of AHF patients from 30 European countries who were included in the EuroHeart Failure Survey (EHFS) II.
Methods and results: Follow-up data were available for 2981 AHF patients, of these 62% had a history of chronic HF. One-year mortality after discharge was lower in patients with de novo AHF when compared with acutely decompensated chronic HF (ADCHF), 16.4 vs. 23.2% (P < 0.001). Cardiogenic shock conferred the highest cumulative 1-year mortality (52.9%) as a result of in-hospital mortality of 39.3%. Long-term prognosis in decompensated AHF was also dismal. Hypertensive HF was associated with the lowest mortality (13.7% at 1 year). Age, prior myocardial infarction, creatinine level, and low plasma sodium were independently associated with mortality during the whole follow-up period. Diabetes, anaemia, and history of chronic HF were associated with worse and hypertension with better long-term survival. History of cerebrovascular disease was associated with worse short-term outcome.
Conclusion: Early and late mortality differ between de novo AHF and ADCHF and between clinical classes of AHF. EHFS II identifies clinical risk markers and demonstrates the importance of a thorough characterization of AHF populations according to history and clinical presentation.