Systolic Blood Pressure at Admission, Clinical Characteristics, and Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized With Acute Heart Failure

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Abstract
Acute heart failure is a major public health concern because of its prevalence and associated morbidity and mortality. In 2003, 1.1 million patients were discharged from the hospital for heart failure, making this the most common primary discharge diagnosis among patients older than 65 years.1,2 Until recently, the scientific community's understanding of acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) had been based on demographic and outcome data obtained from randomized controlled trials.3 While these results drive therapeutic decision making, relying on clinical trial data to characterize the general acute heart failure population is limited by the fact that randomized controlled trials have tended to focus on a small proportion of AHFS patients. Because of selective enrollment criteria, clinical trials may not be representative of broad populations with AHFS.4 Registries can provide complementary data to clinical trials and may include patients that are a more representative sampling of the patient population of interest.

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