Descripción clínico-epidemiológica de los pacientes con falla cardiaca aguda que consultan al servicio de urgencias

acute heart failure is a common cause of consultation to emergency services around the world. however, the clinical profile of patients with acute heart failure among us is unknown. objective: to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with acute heart failure who present to the emergency department. methods: a prospective analytical study was performed. results: one hundred and six (106) patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 62.4 years (16-94), 52.8% of whom were males. the most common causes of heart failure were: hypertensive cardiomyopathy (45.2%), idiopathic (31.1%), ischemic heart disease (14.1%), valve disease (8.4%), viral and peripartum cardiomyopathy (0.9%). 11,2% were diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. treatments prior to admission included: digoxin (26.4%), diuretics (73%), ace inhibitors (73%), beta blockers (32%), and spironolactone (34.9%). the functional class prior to the admission was: nyha i in 1.8%, nyha ii 26.4%, nyha iii 57.5%, nyha iv 14.3%. pulmonary edema was present in 10.37% (11), the average value of the natriuretic brain peptide was 2356 pg/ml. 67.2% had low ejection fraction (less than 40%). the length of the hospital stay averaged 11, 42 days (1-69). conclusions: upon comparison with international heart failure records, our population with acute heart failure is younger and with predominantly non-ischemic etiology. beta blockers are underused, but there is an adequate use of ace inhibitors (acta med colomb 2011; 36: 125-129)