Causes of hospitalization and prognosis in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Secular trends in the years 2006–2014 according to the SILesian CARDiovascular (SILCARD) database

INTRODUCTION Despite the progress in cardiology in recent years, cardiovascular (CV) diseases remain the main cause of death in European countries. The knowledge concerning the structure of hospital admissions for CV diseases and clinical outcomes is fragmentary.
OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to analyze the characteristics and outcome of patients with CV disease, hospitalized between 2006 and 2014 and included in the Silesian Cardiovascular Database (SILCARD) covering a population of 4.6 million patients.
PATIENTS AND METHODS SILCARD is based on the data from the Regional Department of the National Health Fund in Poland. The enrollment criteria were any hospitalization at a department of cardiology, cardiac surgery, diabetology or vascular surgery and hospitalization with a cardiovascular diagnosis at a department of internal medicine or intensive care. The data come from 310 hospital departments and 1863 outpatient clinics, and contain information on 487 518 patients and 956 634 hospitalizations.
RESULTS Heart failure (20%) and stable coronary artery disease (18.5%) were the most frequent primary causes of hospitalization. The number of hospitalizations due to heart failure, aortic stenosis, and pulmonary embolism significantly increased. The highest 12‑month mortality was reported in patients with heart failure and pulmonary embolism (>30%). A decrease in 12‑month mortality in patients with heart failure, stable coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and atrial fibrillation was noted, although for some disease entities, it remained relatively high.
CONCLUSIONS Between the years 2006 and 2014, in‑hospital and 12‑month mortality showed a trend for decline in many disease entities, with considerable space for prognostic improvement.