The prescription of beta-blockers in older patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: an observational study in Vietnam

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 12923 - 7
• Main Authors: Van Nguyen, Tan, Nguyen, Hoa T. K, Wong, Wei Jin, Ahmad, Fahed, Nguyen, Tu Ngoc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 05.06.2024; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Beta blockers; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Congestive heart failure; Ejection fraction; Heart failure; Heart rate; Kidney diseases; Lung diseases; Medical records; Observational studies; Regression analysis
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63479-w

This study in older hospitalized patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) aimed to examine the prevalence of beta-blocker prescription and its associated factors. A total of 190 participants were recruited from July 2019 to July 2020. The inclusion criteria included: (1) aged ≥ 60 years, (2) having a diagnosis of chronic HFrEF in the medical records, (3) hospitalized for at least 48 h. The participants had a mean age of 75.5 ± 9.1, and 46.8% were female. Of these, 55.3% were prescribed beta-blockers during admission. To explore the factors associated with beta-blocker prescription, multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied and the results were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). On multivariate logistic regression models, higher NYHA classes (OR 0.49, 95%CI 0.26–0.94), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.04–0.85), chronic kidney disease (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.19–0.83), and heart rate under 65 (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.12–0.98) were associated with a reduced likelihood of prescription. In this study, we found a low rate of beta-blocker prescriptions, with only around half of the participants being prescribed beta-blockers. Further studies are needed to examine the reasons for the under-prescription of beta-blockers, and to evaluate the long-term benefits of beta-blockers in elderly patients with HFrEF in this population.