BACKGROUND: While heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is primarily a disease of old age, risk factors that contribute to HFpEF are not limited to older patients. The objectives of this population-based observational study were to describe the clinical epidemiology of HFpEF in younger ( < 65years) as compared with older ( > /=65years) patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We reviewed the medical records of residents of central Massachusetts hospitalized with HFpEF at all 11 greater Worcester (MA) medical centers during the 5 study years of 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Among the 2398 patients hospitalized with confirmed HFpEF, 357 (14.9%) were < 65years old. Younger patients were more likely to be male, non-Caucasian, obese, and to have a history of diabetes and chronic kidney disease than older patients with HFpEF. Younger patients hospitalized with HFpEF were less likely to have received commonly prescribed cardiac medications, had a longer hospital stay, and experienced significantly lower post-discharge death rates than older hospitalized patients.

CONCLUSION: While HFpEF is predominantly a disease of old age, data from longitudinal studies remain needed to identify risk factors in younger individuals that may predispose them to the development of HFpEF.