Association of dementia with in-hospital outcomes in primary heart failure and acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations

BACKGROUND: Dementia and cardiovascular diseases contribute to a significant disability and healthcare utilization in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: The in-hospital treatment patterns and outcomes of heart failure (HF) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are not well-studied in this population.

METHODS: We used the National Inpatient Sample database to identify AMI and HF hospitalizations in adults ≥65 years between 2016 and 2018.

RESULTS: A total of 2,466,369 HF hospitalizations (277,900 with dementia [11.3%]) and 1,094,155 AMI hospitalizations (100,365 with dementia [9.2%]) were identified. Patients with dementia were older (mean age 83.8 vs 78.6 years for HF, and 83.0 vs 75.8 years for AMI) with female predominance (59.0% for HF and 56.0% for AMI) than those without dementia. In adjusted analysis, patients with dementia had higher in-hospital mortality (HF 4.7% vs 3.1%, aOR 1.33 [1.27-1.39] and AMI 9.9% vs 5.9%, aOR 1.23 [1.17-1.30]), p < 0.001) and lower mechanical circulatory support utilization. Patients with AMI and dementia were less likely to receive revascularization (including percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting, and thrombolysis), vasopressors, and invasive mechanical ventilation. They had a longer mean length of stay (LOS) (5.5 vs 5.3 days for HF and 5.1 vs 4.8 days for AMI, p < 0.001 for both), a lower inflation-adjusted cost of care for AMI ($15,486 vs $23,215, p < 0.001), and higher rates of transfer to rehabilitation facilities.

CONCLUSION: Patients with dementia admitted for HF or AMI had higher in-hospital mortality, a longer LOS, and were less likely to receive aggressive revascularization interventions after AMI.