Chronic heart failure in out-patient practice: aetiology issues

Abstract

Aim. To study the aetiology of chronic heart failure (CHF) in Chuvash Republic.Material and methods. The study was a part of a multi-center epidemiological program (EPOCHE) determining the prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH) and CHF in non-organised population of European part of the Russian Federation. A random representative sample included 3090 people aged over 15 years. After the screening, 231 patients with clinically manifested CHF were selected and examined at a hospital.Results. The leading aetiological CHF factor was AH (88,8%), especially in combination with coronary heart disease (CHD) (58%); isolated AH was registered in 30.8% of the participants. Only in 8 subjects (3,5%), isolated CHD was the leading CHF cause. Isolated AH, as an aetiological CHF factor, was more frequent in women than in men (33,9% vs. 22,2%). In men, isolated CHD resulted in CHF 4.4 times more often than in women..Conclusion. High population prevalence of AH and CHD combination (88,8%) explained their substantial impact into CHF aetiology.

Keywords

• arterial hypertension
• chronic heart failure
• coronary heart disease