
Trends in hospitalization for congestive heart failure, 1996–2009
Author(s) -
Munir Muhammad Bilal,
Sharbaugh Michael S.,
Thoma Floyd W.,
Nisar Muhammad Umer,
Kamran Amir S.,
Althouse Andrew D.,
Saba Samir
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.22638
Subject(s) - medicine , confidence interval , heart failure , diagnosis code , population , emergency medicine , healthcare cost and utilization project , health statistics , demography , pediatrics , health care , environmental health , sociology , economics , economic growth
Background Although heart failure ( HF ) is a common cause of hospital admissions, few data describe temporal trends in HF hospitalization. We present data on number of HF admissions, length of stay ( LOS ), and inpatient mortality in the United States, 1996–2009. Hypothesis To assess HF hospitalizations in a national sample of United States population. Methods Data were obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Survey ( NHDS ), a national probability sample survey of discharges conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics. Sampling weights are applied to raw NHDS data to produce national estimates. Hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of HF were identified using ICD ‐9‐ CM codes. We excluded hospitalizations where HF was a secondary diagnosis. Weighted least squares regression was used to test for linear trends in HF hospitalizations. Results Approximately 15.5 million weighted primary HF hospitalizations were included. The number of total primary HF hospitalizations increased from 1 000 766 in 1996 to about 1 173 832 in 2009 (β = 7371 hospitalizations per year; 95% confidence interval ( CI ): 552 to 14 190, P = 0.036). Mean LOS per hospitalization decreased from 6.07 days in 1996 to about 5.26 days in 2009 (β = −0.059 days per year; 95% CI : −0.079 to −0.039, P < 0.001). Inpatient mortality rates declined from 4.92% in 1996 to 3.41% in 2009 (β = −0.17% per year; 95% CI : −0.23 to −0.10, P < 0.001). Conclusions In a nationally representative sample of HF hospitalizations, mean LOS and inpatient mortality rates declined over the past 2 decades. HF management cost is most likely to be reduced by decreasing the number of HF admissions.