Survival analysis of heart failure patients: A case study

PLoS One. 2017 Jul 20;12(7):e0181001. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181001. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

This study was focused on survival analysis of heart failure patients who were admitted to Institute of Cardiology and Allied hospital Faisalabad-Pakistan during April-December (2015). All the patients were aged 40 years or above, having left ventricular systolic dysfunction, belonging to NYHA class III and IV. Cox regression was used to model mortality considering age, ejection fraction, serum creatinine, serum sodium, anemia, platelets, creatinine phosphokinase, blood pressure, gender, diabetes and smoking status as potentially contributing for mortality. Kaplan Meier plot was used to study the general pattern of survival which showed high intensity of mortality in the initial days and then a gradual increase up to the end of study. Martingale residuals were used to assess functional form of variables. Results were validated computing calibration slope and discrimination ability of model via bootstrapping. For graphical prediction of survival probability, a nomogram was constructed. Age, renal dysfunction, blood pressure, ejection fraction and anemia were found as significant risk factors for mortality among heart failure patients.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Blood Pressure / physiology
  • Creatinine / blood
  • Female
  • Heart Failure / blood
  • Heart Failure / mortality*
  • Heart Failure / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pakistan / epidemiology
  • Sex Factors
  • Smoking / adverse effects
  • Sodium / blood
  • Survival Analysis
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / blood
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / mortality*
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / physiopathology

Substances

  • Sodium
  • Creatinine

Grants and funding

The authors received no specific funding for this work.