Congestive heart failure in old age: prevalence, mechanisms and 4‐year prognosis in the Helsinki Ageing Study

Objective. To examine the prevalence, underlying diseases, abnormalities of left ventricular function and prognosis in congestive heart failure (CHF) of old age. Design. A population‐based clinical and echocardiographic study with a 4‐year mortality follow‐up. Setting. University hospital. Subjects. Five hundred and one individuals born in 1904, 1909 and 1914 (367 women). Main outcome measures. Presence of CHF by clinical and chest radiograph criteria; left ventricular size and systolic function by echocardiography; grade of aortic and mitral valve lesions by Doppler echocardiography; 4‐year total and cardiovascular mortality. Results. Forty‐one of 501 participants (8.2%) had CHF. Ischaemic heart disease (54%), hypertension (54%) and moderate‐to‐severe mitral or aortic valve disease (51%) were the main underlying conditions; 90% of patients had one or more of these diseases. Most individuals with CHF (28 of 39 patients, 72%) had normal left ventricular contractions at echocardiography. ‘Diastolic CHF’, defined as CHF with normal systolic left ventricular function and no regurgitant valve disease, was found in 51% (20 of 39 patients). The relative 4‐year risk for death associated with CHF, adjusted for age and sex, was 2.1 (95% confidence interval 1.3–3.4) for all‐cause mortality and 4.2 (CI 1.9–5.6) for cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions. The prevalence of CHF in a population aged 75–86 years is approximately 8%. Ischaemic or valvular heart disease and hypertension are the main underlying conditions. At echocardiography, about 50% of the elderly with CHF have normal left ventricular systolic contractions in the absence of valve disease and an additional 20% have normal systolic function with mitral regurgitation. The presence of CHF doubles the age‐ and sex‐adjusted risk of death from all causes, and quadruples the risk of cardiovascular death during 4‐year follow‐up.