Management and Prognosis of Heart Failure in Octogenarians: Final Report from the KorAHF Registry

Treatment of heart failure (HF) in the elderly face many difficulties due to lack of robust evidence. We analyzed the outcome of HF in octogenarians using a nationwide HF registry. Among 5625 patients from the Korean Acute Heart Failure (KorAHF) registry, prognosis of octogenarian HF and the association of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) with mortality and readmissions were analyzed. Octogenarian patients (1185, 22.4%) showed a higher mortality, and males were especially at increased risk (HR (hazard ratio) 1.19, 95% CI 1.01–1.40). A J-curve association between blood pressure (BP) and mortality was observed regardless of age, but the nadir value was lower in octogenarians (123.8 vs. 127.9 mmHg for systolic blood pressure (SBP); 67.1 vs. 73.9 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure (DBP), p < 0.001). Use of GDMT in octogenarian patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (EF) were inadequate (74.3%, 47.1%, and 46.1% in octogenarians vs. 78.4%, 59.8%, and 55.2% in non-elderly for renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, beta-blockers, and aldosterone antagonists, respectively; all p < 0.05). However, those on medications had a significant reduction in 6 month mortality. For octogenarians with HF and preserved EF, angiotensin receptor blocker use reduced hospitalizations for HF in men (HR 0.19, 95% CI 0.04–0.87), but not in women (p-interaction = 0.037). HF in octogenarians were found to have different characteristics compared with the non-elderly. However, adequate use of GDMT was still associated with improved survival, and more attention should be given to prescribing medications with clinical benefits.