Characteristics of patients at diagnosis of heart failure
| Predictors | Total | Development data | Validation data |
| N=27 947 | N=15 020 | N=12 927 | |
| Demography | |||
| Female sex, N (%) | 9397 (33.6) | 5097 (33.9) | 4300 (33.3) |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 68.5 (13.2) | 68.8 (13.3) | 68.2 (13.0) |
| Highest completed education, N (%) | |||
| Group 1 | 11 697 (43.7) | 6555 (46.2) | 5142 (40.8) |
| Group 2 | 10 996 (41.0) | 5615 (39.6) | 5381 (42.7) |
| Group 3 | 4099 (15.3) | 2024 (14.3) | 2075 (16.5) |
| Lifestyle, N (%) | |||
| Elevated alcohol consumption | 2187 (9.1) | 1130 (9.0) | 1057 (9.2) |
| Smoking status | |||
| Never | 6516 (25.6) | 3253 (24.3) | 3263 (27.1) |
| Former | 10 983 (43.2) | 5679 (42.5) | 5304 (44.0) |
| Current | 7941 (31.2) | 4447 (33.2) | 3494 (29.0) |
| Clinical data, N (%) | |||
| Left ventricular ejection fraction | |||
| <25% | 6559 (24.0) | 3296 (22.8) | 3263 (25.4) |
| 25%–40% | 17 047 (62.4) | 8833 (61.1) | 8214 (63.9) |
| >40%–49% | 1841 (6.7) | 1203 (8.3) | 638 (5.0) |
| ≥50% | 1883 (6.9) | 1134 (7.8) | 749 (5.8) |
| NYHA class | |||
| I | 4061 (16.1) | 2028 (15.6) | 2033 (16.6) |
| II | 15 264 (60.4) | 7645 (58.8) | 7619 (62.0) |
| III/IV | 5964 (23.6) | 3336 (25.6) | 2628 (21.4) |
| Comorbidities and health factors, N (%) | |||
| Hypertension | 11 717 (41.9) | 5943 (39.6) | 5774 (44.7) |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 5656 (20.2) | 3028 (20.2) | 2628 (20.3) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 5742 (20.5) | 3088 (20.6) | 2654 (20.5) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 2082 (7.4) | 1083 (7.2) | 999 (7.7) |
| Obstructive sleep apnoea | 628 (2.2) | 249 (1.7) | 379 (2.9) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 3567 (12.8) | 1939 (12.9) | 1.628 (12.6) |
| Valvular heart disease | 2567 (9.2) | 1415 (9.4) | 1152 (8.9) |
| Myocardial infarction | 10 675 (38.2) | 5973 (39.8) | 4702 (36.4) |
| Peripheral artery disease | 3414 (12.2) | 1829 (12.2) | 1585 (12.3) |
| Hyperthyroidism within 6 months | 314 (1.1) | 183 (1.2) | 131 (1.0) |
| Sepsis* | <5 | <5 | <5 |
| Pneumonia* | 1366 (4.9) | 773 (5.2) | 593 (4.6) |
| Pulmonary embolism* | 269 (1.0) | 112 (0.8) | 157 (1.2) |
| Acute respiratory distress syndrome* | <5 | <5 | <5 |
| Cardiac and non-cardiac thoracic surgery* | 447 (1.6) | 229 (1.5) | 218 (1.7) |
| Admission to intensive care unit* | 383 (1.4) | 206 (1.4) | 177 (1.4) |
| Cancer within 6 months | 1159 (4.1) | 545 (3.6) | 614 (4.8) |
| Medication, N (%)† | |||
| ACE inhibitor or ARB | 16 452 (58.9) | 8893 (59.2) | 7559 (58.5) |
| Beta-blocker | 12 494 (44.7) | 6911 (46.0) | 5583 (43.2) |
| MRA | 3018 (10.8) | 1678 (11.2) | 1340 (10.4) |
| Statin | 13 702 (49.0) | 7470 (49.7) | 6232 (48.2) |
| Aspirin and/or clopidogrel | 15 195 (54.4) | 8516 (56.7) | 6679 (51.7) |
| NSAID | 4669 (16.7) | 2767 (18.4) | 1902 (14.7) |
Missing in development dataset, N (%): alcohol: 2480 (16.5); smoking: 1641 (10.9); LVEF: 554 (3.7); NYHA: 2011 (13.4); education: 826 (5.5). Missing in validation dataset, N (%): alcohol: 1384 (10.7); smoking: 866 (6.7); LVEF: 63 (0.5); NYHA: 647 (5.0); education: 329 (2.6).
*At least 1 prescription within 6 months before HF.
†Within 1 month before HF.
ACE, Angiotensin-converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin receptor blockers; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; NYHA, New York Heart Association.