The AHEAD (Acute HEArt Failure Database) is a registry of patients with AHF hospitalized at cardiologic departments with 24 hour cath lab emergency. Czech republic is a country which is completely covered by a cath lab emergency for direct angioplasty in acute MI, one cath lab is mostly for a region of 400 000 inhabitants and the transfer time (telephone – door) is usually ‹ 60 minutes.
Four big hospitals (2x Prague, 2x Brno) serving for a region with about 2 000 000 inhabitants collect data of patients hospitalized with AHF. The registry is prospective, available on web site (
https://trials.cba.muni.cz) and monitored by an independent institution of Masaryk University, Brno.
The registry started in July 2006 and till 31.12.2006 data about 382 patients were collected. 59,3% had de novo AHF, 38,9% had acute decompensation of chronic HF (1,8% unknown), 42,1% had ischemic event, 68,1% were male. Female had more frequently de novo HF (72,4%) than male (52,9%). The mean age was 71,1 year, mean BMI was 27,9 kg/m2. Female were older with higher BMI. History of hypertension was present in 58,5% and diabetes 37,7%. The mean heart rate was 86 beats per minute, mean blood pressure 135/79 mmHg. Female had significantly higher BP. The mean ejection fraction was 36,1%, female had statistically higher EF (42,1% vs 32,4%, p < 0,001).
Levosimendan was given 5,7% patients, 63,7% of them had chronic HF decompensation. 71,2% of the patients treated by levosimendan were younger than the mean of all patients and none of them had EF › 40%.
Summary: patients treated at cardiologic departments for acute HF had more frequently ischemic etiology of de novo HF and higher number of young man is present, than within patients treated in general hospitals. The in hospital mortality will be known during the congress. Six general hospitals will join the registry at the beginning of the year 2007.
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