Hyperkalemia in heart failure patients in Spain and its impact on guidelines and recommendations: ESC-EORP-HFA Heart Failure Long-Term Registry

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Hyperkalemia is a growing concern in the treatment of patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction because it limits the use of effective drugs. We report estimates of the magnitude of this problem in routine clinical practice in Spain, as well as changes in potassium levels during follow-up and associated factors.

Methods: This study included patients with acute (n=881) or chronic (n=3587) heart failure recruited in 28 Spanish hospitals of the European heart failure registry of the European Society of Cardiology and followed up for 1 year. Various outcomes were analyzed, including changes in serum potassium levels and their impact on treatment.

Results: Hyperkalemia (K⁺> 5.4 mEq/L) was identified in 4.3% (95%CI, 3.7%-5.0%) and 8.2% (6.5%-10.2%) of patients with chronic and acute heart failure, respectively, and was responsible for 28.9% of all cases of contraindication to mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist use and for 10.8% of all cases of failure to reach the target dose. Serum potassium levels were not recorded in 291 (10.8%) of the 2693 chronic heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction. During follow-up, potassium levels increased in 179 of 1431 patients (12.5%, 95%CI, 10.8%-14.3%). This increase was directly related to age, diabetes, and history of stroke and was inversely related to history of hyperkalemia.

Conclusions: This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of hyperkalemia in patients with heart failure in everyday clinical practice and the need to improve monitoring of this factor in these patients due to its interference with the possibility of receiving optimal treatment.

Keywords: Follow-up; Heart failure; Hiperpotasemia; Hyperkalemia; Insuficiencia cardiaca; Real-world evidence; Registro de práctica clínica habitual; Seguimiento.