Risk Factors and Prescribing Pattern among Congestive Heart Failure Patients: A Retrospective Study in Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Congestive heart failure is a progressive clinical syndrome that impairs the ability of heart to pump blood at sufficient rate to meet the metabolic demands of the body. The present study aims to study the prescription patterns and risk factors associated with congestive heart failure (CHF). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in the Cardiology Department of a Charitable Hospital, Mangaluru for the duration of six months. The data of heart failure patients of last ten years (December 2011- December 2020) admitted in the inpatients setting between the 18-90 years of age were included in the study irrespective of the gender. Results: CHF was most prevalent among male (60.5%) than the females (39.5%) with mean age of 59.05 ±13.34 years. The most common risk factors associated with CHF were hypertension (57.8%), male gender (56.8%), IHD (53.6%), and age (47.3%). The study showed that 59.1% had 3-5 risk factors. The most commonly prescribed HF drugs were furosemide (53.7%) followed by torsemide (39%), Ipratropium bromide + levosalbutamol (25.34%), aspirin (24.8%), Budesonide (24.4%), ramipril (22.9%), aspirin + atorvastatin (22.9%), clopidogrel (20.6%), and spironolactone (20.2%) etc. respectively. Conclusion: Hypertension, male gender, age, and IHD were identified as the most common risk factors. Diuretics and other cardiovascular agents along with the bronchodilators are the core part of the treatment strategies for the management of congestive heart failure. Thus understanding about the risk factors and trends in prescribing is vital for positive clinical outcome.