We included AIS patients admitted to the institutions participating in the Registry of the Canadian Stroke Network. HF was defined as history of pre-existing HF or pulmonary edema present at the time of arrival. The primary outcome was death or disability at discharge (modified Rankin Scale score >3). Secondary outcomes included disposition, death at 3 months and at 1 year, and 30-day hospital readmissions.
Among 12,396 patients, HF was found in 1124 (9.1%) patients. HF was associated with higher risk of death at 30 days (24.5% versus 11.2%, P < .0001), at 1 year (44.3% versus 20.6, P < .0001), and disability at discharge (70.4% versus 56%, P < .0001). In the multivariable analysis, HF was an independent predictor of death and disability (odds ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.37), death at 30 days (hazard ratio [HR] 1.22, 95% CI 1.05-1.41), and hospital readmissions (HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.05-1.65) at 30 days. The results were unaltered when adjusting for pneumonia with the exception of death or disability at discharge.
In this large cohort study, HF was observed in 9.1% of AIS patients. HF is an independent predictor of death and disability and hospital readmissions after stroke at 30 days.