| Age | 68.5 ± 14.5 | 67.6 ± 15.9 | 69.6 ± 12.3 | < 0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23.0 ± 3.9 | 23.0 ± 3.9 | 23.7 ± 3.8 | < 0.001 |
| Male, N (%) | 2872 (53.2) | 1596 (51.9) | 1277 (55.0) | 0.023 |
| Current smoker, N (%) | 961 (17.8) | 546 (17.8) | 415 (17.9) | 0.086 |
| Risk factors, N (%) |
| Hypertension | 3183 (59.0) | 1554 (50.6) | 1629 (70.2) | < 0.001 |
| Ischemic heart disease | 1501 (27.8) | 636 (20.7) | 865 (37.2) | < 0.001 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1523 (28.2) | 921 (30.0) | 602 (25.9) | 0.001 |
| Chronic lung disease | 608 (11.3) | 350 (11.4) | 258 (11.1) | 0.492 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 756 (14.0) | 277 (9.0) | 479 (20.6) | < 0.001 |
| Cerebrovascular disease | 807 (15.0) | 405 (13.2) | 402 (17.3) | < 0.001 |
| Previous heart failure | 2539 (47.1) | 1380 (44.9) | 1159 (49.9) | < 0.001 |
| Physical and laboratory findings |
| SBP, mmHg | 131.4 ± 30.1 | 130.4 ± 29.4 | 132.8 ± 30.9 | 0.003 |
| DBP, mmHg | 78.7 ± 18.7 | 79.2 ± 18.8 | 78.1 ± 18.6 | 0.028 |
| Heart rate, beats/min | 92.8 ± 25.9 | 92.5 ± 26.4 | 93.1 ± 25.2 | 0.379 |
| Glucose, mg/dL | 155.3 ± 76.7 | 129.6 ± 47.8 | 189.1 ± 94.1 | < 0.001 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 151.8 ± 43.2 | 153.9 ± 42.2 | 149.2 ± 44.4 | < 0.001 |
| BNP ≥ 500 pg/mL or NT-proBNP ≥ 1000 pg/mL | 4047 (75.0) | 2267 (73.8) | 1780 (76.7) | 0.014 |
| CRP, mg/dL | 2.4 ± 4.3 | 2.1 ± 3.5 | 2.9 ± 5.0 | < 0.001 |
| hsCRP, mg/dL | 2.3 ± 4.2 | 2.0 ± 3.8 | 2.6 ± 4.6 | < 0.001 |
| Sodium, mmol/L | 137.5 ± 4.8 | 138.0 ± 4.6 | 136.8 ± 5.0 | < 0.001 |
| Potassium, mmol/L | 4.4 ± 0.7 | 4.3 ± 0.6 | 4.5 ± 0.8 | < 0.001 |
| BUN, mg/dL | 26.1 ± 16.3 | 23.7 ± 14.3 | 29.2 ± 18.3 | < 0.001 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.5 ± 1.5 | 1.3 ± 1.3 | 1.7 ± 1.6 | < 0.001 |
| NYHA class III-IV, N (%) | 4582 (84.9) | 2558 (83.2) | 2024 (87.2) | < 0.001 |
| Acute pulmonary edema on chest X-ray, N (%) | 1039 (19.3) | 502 (16.3) | 537 (23.1) | < 0.001 |
| Echocardiographic findings |
| LVEDD, mm | 57.4 ± 10.1 | 57.5 ± 10.6 | 57.4 ± 9.3 | 0.863 |
| LVESD, mm | 45.2 ± 12.3 | 45.1 ± 12.8 | 45.4 ± 11.7 | 0.302 |
| LVEF (%) | 37.8 ± 15.6 | 38.5 ± 15.9 | 36.7 ± 15.0 | < 0.001 |
| LA volume index, mL/m2 | 63.8 ± 42.1 | 66.7 ± 41.9 | 59.6 ± 42.0 | < 0.001 |
| E′, cm/s | 5.0 ± 2.3 | 5.2 ± 2.1 | 4.8 ± 2.5 | < 0.001 |
| S′, cm/s | 5.1 ± 2.0 | 5.1 ± 2.1 | 5.0 ± 1.9 | 0.026 |
| E/E′ | 21.2 ± 11.5 | 20.1 ± 10.8 | 22.7 ± 12.2 | < 0.001 |
| RVSP | 43.9 ± 15.1 | 43.2 ± 14.9 | 44.9 ± 15.4 | < 0.001 |
| Management, N (%) |
| Parenteral diuretics | 4062 (75.3) | 2222 (72.3) | 1840 (79.3) | < 0.001 |
| Parenteral inotropics | 1672 (31.0) | 760 (24.7) | 912 (39.3) | < 0.001 |
| Parenteral vasodilators | 2231 (41.4) | 1105 (36.0) | 1126 (48.5) | < 0.001 |
| ACEIs/ARBs at admission | 3383 (62.7) | 1977 (64.3) | 1406 (60.6) | 0.001 |
| ACEIs/ARBs at discharge | 3601 (66.8) | 2117 (68.9) | 1484 (63.9) | < 0.001 |
| Beta-blockers at admission | 2054 (38.1) | 1183 (38.5) | 871 (37.5) | 0.001 |
| Beta-blockers at discharge | 2725 (50.5) | 1533 (49.9) | 1192 (51.4) | 0.285 |
| AAs at admission | 2206 (40.9) | 1379 (44.9) | 827 (35.6) | < 0.001 |
| AAs at discharge | 2443 (45.3) | 1472 (47.9) | 971 (41.8) | < 0.001 |
| Warfarin at discharge | 1531 (28.4) | 965 (31.4) | 566 (24.4) | < 0.001 |
| Heart transplantation | 69 (1.3) | 13 (0.4) | 56 (2.4) | < 0.001 |
