Clinical profiles and temporal trends of 37,741 cardiovascular hospitalizations in greece over 13 years: initial insights from the CardioMining-AI nationwide database

Abstract Background Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with evolving trends in disease presentation and management. Real-world data from national registries provide valuable insights into hospitalization patterns, risk factors, and therapeutic practices. Purpose This study aims to evaluate the clinical characteristics, hospitalization trends, and treatment patterns among patients admitted with cardiovascular diseases in Greece between 2012 and 2023. Methods The CardioMining-AI nationwide database includes retrospectively collected data on cardiovascular hospitalizations from multiple cardiology centers across Greece. Demographic characteristics, primary discharge diagnoses, past medical history, in-hospital interventions, and pharmacological treatment were analyzed. Temporal trends in hospitalization rates and clinical parameters were assessed using linear regression models and trend analyses. Results Α total of 37,741 cardiovascular hospitalizations were recorded among 33,645 unique patients (Figure 1). The median age was 70 years (IQR: 21), and 66.4% were male. The median length of hospital stay was 4 days (IQR: 5). The most frequent primary discharge diagnoses included coronary artery disease (40.8%), acute decompensated heart failure (20.4%), cardiac arrhythmias (18.6%), and valvular heart disease (5.4%). Temporal trend analyses showed a significant decline in hospitalizations due to chronic coronary syndromes and arterial hypertension, whereas admissions for aortic stenosis, ventricular tachycardia, pulmonary embolism, endocarditis, pericarditis, and non-cardiac causes significantly increased. Over time, hospitalized patients exhibited lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p 0.001). In terms of past medical history, arterial hypertension (49.6%), diabetes mellitus (27.8%), hyperlipidemia (26.5%), and coronary artery disease (25.7%) were the most common comorbidities. Over time, there was an increasing prevalence of patients with a history of implanted defibrillator and cardiac resynchronization devices, ischemic cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Regarding in-hospital procedures, 38.9% of patients underwent coronary angiography, and 19.8% received percutaneous coronary intervention. At discharge, the median number of prescribed medications was 5 (IQR: 3), with 48% of patients receiving antiplatelet therapy, 32% anticoagulants, 44% diuretics, 60% antihypertensive therapy, 62% beta-blockers, and 55% statins. Conclusions This large-scale analysis of real-world data from the CardioMining-AI database revealed that while hospitalizations due to traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and chronic coronary syndromes declined, those related to structural heart disease and arrhythmias increased. These findings highlight shifting epidemiological patterns and the need for targeted preventive strategies to optimize cardiovascular outcomes.Primary discharge diagnoses