NYMC Faculty Publications
Initiation of Anti-Hypertensive Drugs and Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Persistent Hypertension
Author Type(s)
Faculty
DOI
10.1016/j.pcad.2022.06.009
Journal Title
Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases
First Page
17
Last Page
23
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Department
Medicine
Abstract
BACKGROUND: National heart failure (HF) guidelines recommend that in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (EF;HFpEF) and hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP) should be maintained below 130 mmHg. The objective of the study is to examine the association between initiation of anti-hypertensive drugs and outcomes in patients with HFpEF with persistent hypertension. METHODS: Of the 8873 hospitalized patients with HFpEF (EF ≥50%) with a history of hypertension without renal failure in Medicare-linked OPTIMIZE-HF, 3315 had a discharge SBP ≥130 mmHg, of whom 1971 were not receiving anti-hypertensive drugs, thiazides and calcium channel blockers, before hospitalization. Of these, 366 received discharge prescriptions for those drugs. We assembled a propensity score-matched cohort of 365 pairs of patients initiated and not initiated on anti-hypertensive drugs, balanced on 37 baseline characteristics. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for outcomes associated with anti-hypertensive drug initiation were estimated in the matched cohort. RESULTS: Matched patients (n = 730) had a mean age of 78 years; 67% were women and 17% African Americans. During 6 (median 2.5) years of follow-up, 66% of the patients died and 45% had HF readmission. HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality at 30 days, 12 months and 6 years associated with anti-hypertensive drug initiation were 0.64 (0.30-1.36), 0.70 (0.51-0.97), and 0.95 (0.79-1.13), respectively. Respective HRs (95% CIs) for HF readmission were 1.65 (0.97-2.80), 1.18 (0.90-1.56) and 1.09 (0.88-1.35). CONCLUSIONS: Among hospitalized older patients with HFpEF with uncontrolled hypertension, the initiation of therapy with anti-hypertensive drugs was not associated with all-cause mortality or hospital readmission.
Recommended Citation
Lam, P. H., Tsimploulis, A., Patel, S., Raman, V. K., Arundel, C., Faselis, C., Deedwania, P., Sheikh, F. H., Banerjee, S. K., Allman, R. M., Fonarow, G. C., Aronow, W. S., & Ahmed, A. (2022). Initiation of Anti-Hypertensive Drugs and Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Persistent Hypertension. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 73, 17-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2022.06.009