Comparison of the characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in dead and survived patients with heart failure: A retrospective study from northern Iran

During coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), one of the comorbidities that can cause more severe negative clinical consequences than other patients are heart failure (HF) disease. This study aimed to assess and compare characteristics of COVID-19 in dead or survived patients with HF. Using a retrospective study, 78 HF patients with COVID-19 referred to a heart center in northern Iran were included. Data gathering was performed via census sampling from August 2020 to 2021. The medical records of Hf patients with COVID-19 were assessed. Chi-square and t-tests were used to assess the relationship between study variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was also applied to assess the relationships of clinical and demographic characteristics with in-hospital mortality. A total of 78 HF patients with COVID-19 were included in this study. The mean EF, duration of HF, and blood pressure of the patients were 25.83 (SD=12.31), 3.79 (SD=2.10) years, and 126.65 (SD=24.67) mmHg, respectively. Also, 74.36% and 30.77% of patients had hypertension/hypotension and angioplasty, respectively. Finally, 55.13% of HF patients with COVID-19 died. Most of the dead (65.12%) were females but most of the survivors (68.57%) were males (P=0.003). Mean blood pressure of dead patients was lower compared to survived patients (121.26 vs. 133.27 mmHg; P=0.032). Age and blood pressure were predictors of in-hospital mortality in HF patients with COVID-19. The odds of in-hospital mortality were higher in males compared with females (OR=35.717; 95% CI: 2.676 to 476.690; P=0.007). Also, the odds of in-hospital mortality increased with decreasing blood pressure (OR=0.945; 95% CI: 0.900 to 0.993; P=0.024). Therefore, health managers and policymakers should pay special attention to COVID-19 patients with HF.