[Heart rate and functional impairment are predictors of outcome in heart failure patients in the real world. Data from the Austrian Heart Failure registry].

Purpose: Elevated heart rate (70 beats per minute-bpm or more) is a predictor of impaired prognosis in patients with ischemic heart failure. The Austrian Working Group on Heart Failure has established a registry in May 2006 for all patients referred to dedicated heart failure clinics with a planned follow-up after 12 ± 3 months. Here we report an analysis of the prognostic impact of elevated heart rate at referral in a well-defined cohort of heart failure patients.