Outcomes of Patients with Heart Failure followed in a Cardiological Setting to Parakou from 2016 to 2020

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a serious pathology whose evolution is made of episodes of acute decompensation, rhythmic and thromboembolic complications, causes of iterative hospitalizations and death. The objective of this study was to describe the outcomes of patients followed for heart failure in a cardiological setting in Parakou from 2016 to 2020. Methods: This was a longitudinal, descriptive and analytical retrospective study of heart failure patients followed in consultation and/or hospitalization over a period of 5 years (October 2016 to July 2020) in cardiology units of Parakou. The outcome of HF was assessed by the NYHA symptomatic stage, rehospitalization, complications and death. Epidata 3.1 fr and SPSS 21 software were used for data processing and analysis. Results: Of the 4902 cardiovascular admissions, 453 cases of HF (9.24%) were observed. At the onset of care, 51.50% of patients were at NYHA stage IV and 69.46% had left ventricular systolic dysfunction. During the follow-up period, there was a symptomatic improvement in the first 06 months but at one year of follow-up, 45.28% of the subjects were seen with a deteriorated stage. At one year of follow-up, the rehospitalization rate was 23.58%. The complications noted were arrhythmias in 8.32% of cases. The mortality rate was 30.37%. Advanced age > 60 years, Charlson score ≥ 3, hypokalemia and poor adherence to treatment were the factors associated with unfavorable outcomes. Conclusion: HF is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This highlights the importance of its prevention, its better etiological research and patient’s therapeutic education.