Comparing acute and chronic heart failure patients: the Jordanian Heart Failure Registry (JoHFR)

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome with different signs and symptoms that present in chronic and acute forms. This study aimed to compare acute HF (AHF) and chronic HF (CHF) regarding demographics, baseline characteristics and comorbidities, and clinical outcomes. METHODS: This study is a sub-analysis of the Jordanian HF registry (JoHFR). A total of 21 medical centers representing a diverse range of medical facilities participated in the study. The studied data included demographics, medical history, comorbidities, HF risk factors, and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: The study involved 2151 HF patients. Patients with AHF were more likely to be to have diabetes (P=0.001), history of premature ASCVD (P<0.001), and treated at university-based hospital (P<0.001) while they were less likely to be males (P<0.001) and have family history of premature ASCVD (P=0.001) compared to patients with CHF. The AHF group had a higher percentage of patients having more than two office visits or hospital admissions related to HF in the last 12 months (17.5% vs. 10.1%; P<0.001). AHF patients also registered higher percentages in mechanical ventilation requirement (6.6% vs. 3.3%; P=0.005) and mortality rates (11.4% vs. 8.7%; P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed significant differences in the characteristics and outcomes of AHF and CHF using data from the largest HF registry in the Middle East providing a solid foundation for future studies aimed to improve heart failure outcomes in the region.