Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Background. Heart failure is a common long term condition affecting around 900 000 people in the UK and patients commonly present to primary care. The prognosis of patients with a code of heart failure in their primary care record is unknown. Objective. The study sought to determine the overall survival rates for patients with heart failure in a primary care population from the time of diagnosis. Methods. Survival analysis was carried out using UK primary care records from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2012. Patients age 45 or over with a first diagnostic label of heart failure were matched by age, sex and practice to people without heart failure. Outcome was death in the heart failure and no heart failure cohorts. Kaplan- Meier curves were used to compare survival. Age-specific survival rates at 1, 5 and 10 years were determined for men and women with heart failure. Survival rates by year of diagnosis and case definition were also calculated. Results. During the study period, 54 313 patients had a first diagnostic code of heart failure. Overall survival rates for the heart failure group were 81.3% (95%CI 80.9-81.6), 51.5% (95%CI 51.0-52.0) and 29.5% (95%CI 28.9-30.2) at 1, 5 and 10 years respectively and did not change over time. Conclusions. In a primary care population, the survival of patients diagnosed with heart failure did not improved over time. Further research is needed to explain these trends and to find strategies to improve outlook.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/fampra/cmw145

Type

Journal article

Journal

Family Practice

Publication Date

01/04/2017

Volume

34

Pages

161 - 168