Heart rate control and its relation to mortality in patients with chronic heart failure at Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital

Objectives: To evaluate the association between discharge heart rate and cardiovascular mortality within 6 months after discharge in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods: A prospective descriptive study was conducted on 105 patients with chronic heart failure treated at the Cardiology Department, Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital, from January 2024 to November 2025. Heart failure was diagnosed according to the 2021 ESC criteria. Patients were divided into two groups: discharge heart rate <70 bpm (n=42) and discharge heart rate ≥70 bpm (n=63). Baseline characteristics including age, sex, comorbidities, NYHA classification, and cardiovascular mortality within 6 months were recorded. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression model. Results: The mean age was 68.81 ± 12.1 years, with 47.62% aged ≥70 years. Females accounted for 50.48%. Most patients were classified as NYHA III–IV (77.28%). Common comorbidities included hypertension (60.95%), atrial fibrillation (29.52%), valvular heart disease (27.62%), and chronic kidney disease (21.9%). One-month mortality was 9.52% in the group with discharge heart rate ≥70 bpm versus 2.38% in the group with discharge heart rate <70 bpm (p>0.05). Six-month mortality was 3.17% in the ≥70 bpm group compared with 0% in the <70 bpm group. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed a trend toward higher mortality in patients with discharge heart rate ≥70 bpm, although the difference was not statistically significant (HR=2.55; 95% CI: 0.71–9.13; p>0.05). Conclusion: A discharge heart rate ≥70 bpm is associated with a trend toward higher 6-month mortality in patients with chronic heart failure.