Abstract
Objective: To determine prevalence of risk factors in patients with heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HFNEF).
Methodology: This was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted at the Department of Cardiology, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Patients referred from Out Patient and Emergency Departments to the Echocardiography department meeting the criteria for HFNEF were included. All the patients were carefully scrutinized for common risk factors. They were subjected to detailed history and clinical examination. Their clinical record was checked, BMI calculated, ECG and Transthoracic echocardiography was performed. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 15.
Results: The total number of patients studied was 139. Males were 45.3% and females were 54.7%. Mean age +/- SD was 56.64 +/- 10 years. Patients were divided into three groups on the basis of age. There were 42.4% patients in age group 40-54 years, 44.6% in age group 55-69 and 12.9% in age group 70 and above. Majority (51.8%) of the patients were in NYHA class II. Hypertension (59.7%) was the most common risk factor for HFNEF, followed by Coronary artery disease in 34.5%, Diabetes mellitis (DM) 33.1% and Obesity in 15.1%. A significant number of patients 21.6% had no obvious risk factor. Sixty one (43.88%) patients had more than one risk factor contributing to diastolic dysfunction.
Conclusion: Arterial hypertension, Coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity are the major factors in patients with diastolic dysfunction and HFNEF. A significant proportion of patients have multiple risk factors for HFNEF.