The independent effects of left ventricular ejection fraction on short‐term outcomes and resource utilization following hospitalization for heart failure

BACKGROUND: While depressed left ventricular ejection fraction is clearly associated with poor long-term outcome in heart failure (HF), the effect of ejection fraction on short-term outcomes and resource utilization following hospitalization for HF remains unclear. HYPOTHESIS: We evaluated the independent effect of depressed ejection fraction ( 40% (Group 2). In multivariate analyses, Group 1 patients were more likely to have higher than median hospitalization cost odds ratio (OR) = 1.98; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.02-3.91 and longer than median hospital stay (OR = 1.68; CI = 1.08-3.91); they were also more likely to be readmitted for any cause (OR = 2.07; CI = 1.15-3.78) or for HF (OR = 5.71; CI = 1.64-21.94), and they tended to have a higher 30-day incidence of death or readmission (OR = 1.65; CI = 0.96-2.84). CONCLUSIONS: Depressed left ventricular ejection fraction is associated with higher resource utilization and readmission rates following hospitalization for HF. Greater focus on patients with depressed ejection fraction may increase cost savings from HF disease management programs.