Survival rates are similar between African American and white patients with heart failure

Stephanie H. Dunlap, Sirisha Mallemala, Carla A. Sueta, Todd A. Schwartz, Kirkwood F. Adams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: The clinical characteristics of heart failure differ significantly between African American patients and white patients, apparently as a result of differences in the pathobiology of the condition in the races. We investigated the hypothesis that race also influences the survival of patients with heart failure. Methods: Data from the University of North Carolina Heart Failure Database were analyzed for 853 patients (44% African American, 32% women) who had symptomatic heart failure (New York Heart Association class 2.8 ± 0.02 [mean ± SEM]) with a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction of 26% ± 0.5% and a body mass index of 27 ± 0.2. Data on vital status were available in 96.4% of these patients, with a mean length of follow-up of 3.8 ± 0.1 years. Results: An unadjusted univariate proportional-hazards analysis suggested similar survival rates between African American patients and white patients in the study population (relative risk, 0.90; 95% Cl, 0.73-1.10; P = .293). Adjusted analysis, taking into account the characteristics shown to be of prognostic importance, demonstrated no difference in survival rate between African American patients and white patients (relative risk, 1.12; 95% Cl, 0.89-1.42; P = .336). The adjusted relative risk of all-cause mortality in the respective races among patients with heart failure caused by ischemic heart disease was 1.21 (95% Cl, 0.80-1.84; P = .367). Conclusion: African American and white patients with symptomatic heart failure had similar survival rates in our database.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)265-272
Number of pages8
JournalAmerican Heart Journal
Volume146
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2003
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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