ASSESSMENT OF HYPERTENSION CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE IN POLAND AGED OVER 60

Objective: Heart failure is a constantly growing problem and an increasing burden on the health care system not only in Poland but also in the world. In the PolSenior 2 study which was conducted in 2018-19, the prevalence of heart failure among people over 60 was declared by 13.9%, which allowed us to estimate the population of Poles with heart failure at approximately 1.3 million people. One of the main known causes of chronic heart failure is arterial hypertension. Design and method: The multicenter HEROES registry study involved 1,422 people with confirmed heart failure, of whom 1,095 were in the over 60 group. The occurrence of hypertension was assessed based on the ESH guidelines assessed by physicians. Among patients with hypertension, the amount and type of antihypertensive medications were checked as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Results: Arterial hypertension was diagnosed in 77.7% of patients (n= 845). On average, patients took 3.6 medications with antihypertensive indication and/or medications used in heart failure. Most patients took a beta blocker (91.5%), then a drug blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (total 85.9% - of which almost 2/3 were taking ACE-I), a diuretic (76.9%), a mineralocorticoid receptor blocker (62.4%) and the least common calcium channel blocker (20%). The average blood pressure level was 124/72mmHg and the pulse was 72/min, and 23% of patients had a blood pressure of more or equal 140 and/or 90mmHg at discharge. Among people without diagnosed hypertension, the average number of medications was 3.40, average blood pressure at discharge was 112/69mmHg, pulse was 73/min. Conclusions: Heart failure patients in the HEROES study generally had good blood pressure control with multidrug therapy.