Impact of readmissions on octogenarians with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: PURSUIT‐HFpEF registry

AIMS: Heart failure (HF) readmissions with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) are increasing in the elderly, which is a major socioeconomic problem. We investigated the clinical impact of HF readmissions (HFR) on octogenarians with HFpEF. METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled consecutive octogenarians (≥80 years old) from June 2016 to February 2020 in PURSUIT‐HFpEF registry. We divided them into HFR group readmitted for HF during the follow‐up period and non‐HF readmission (non‐HFR) group. We evaluated the impact of HFR on all‐cause mortality, cardiac death, and quality of life (QOL). Additionally, we evaluated the factors at discharge correlated with HFR. HFR group comprised 116 patients (21.4%). Among all‐cause deaths, 40 patients suffered cardiac deaths (48.2%). The Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed a similar prognosis between HFR and non‐HFR groups as well as similar incidences of HF deaths. The QOL scores had significantly deteriorated by 1 year later in the HFR group (0.71 ± 0.19 vs. 0.59 ± 0.21, P < 0.001), while it was similar at 1 year in the non‐HFR group. In the multivariate analysis, diabetes mellitus (DM) (P = 0.019), N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐pro BNP) levels ≥ 1611 pg/mL (P < 0.001), and serum albumin level ≤ 3.7 g/dL (P = 0.011) were useful markers for HFR in octogenarians. CONCLUSIONS: In octogenarians with HFpEF, HF readmission was not directly correlated with the prognosis but was well correlated with the QOL. Close follow‐up is essential to decrease HFR of octogenarians with HFpEF with DM, high NT‐pro BNP (≥1611 pg/mL) and low albumin (≤3.7 g/dL) levels at discharge.