Prescription of cardiovascular drugs in the French ODIN cohort of heart failure patients according to age and type of chronic heart failure.

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a frequent severe disease. Disease-management programmes, which contain a therapeutic patient education component, will play a central role in improving delivery of care and reducing mortality and hospitalizations for CHF.

Aims: In order to have an up-to-date overview of medical treatment of CHF in France implemented by hospital and clinic cardiologists especially interested in CHF and therapeutic patient education, we described the prescription of cardiovascular drugs in the large ODIN cohort of CHF patients, according to age and type of CHF.

Methods: From 2007 to 2010 (median follow-up 27.2 months), CHF patients were prospectively enrolled in a multicentre 'real-world' French cohort by centres previously trained in therapeutic patient education. Patients were grouped according to age (< 60 years, 60 to<70 years, 70 to<80 years and ≥ 80 years) and type of CHF (characterized by level of LVEF: reduced, borderline or preserved). Medical prescription was described and mortality was assessed at long-term follow-up.

Results: The cohort consisted of 3237 patients (67.6 years; 69.4% men). The oldest age group had the highest LVEF. Blockers of the angiotensin-aldosterone system were prescribed progressively and significantly less frequently as the population advanced in age or as LVEF was more preserved. The mean dosages of the main prescribed CHF drugs remained ≥ 50% lower than those recommended for most drugs in all age and LVEF groups. Drug prescriptions were related to aetiology of reduced or preserved CHF. A global decrease in CHF drug prescription was observed for all medication classes except calcium blockers, according to maintenance of relatively or totally preserved LVEF. Survival was related to age but not to type of CHF.

Conclusion: In CHF, and despite management by cardiologists particularly interested in CHF and specifically trained to deliver therapeutic patient education, medical prescription differed substantially from guidelines. Age and type of CHF (reduced versus preserved) appeared to be important factors in lack of adherence to guidelines. However, only age influenced mortality; the type of CHF did not affect survival.