Association of Psychosocial risk factors and Outcomes in heart failure: Does COVID-19 affect outcomes?

Psychosocial risk factors (PSRFs) are crucial non-traditional risk factors affecting outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients. We sought to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PSRFs and HF outcomes. Utilizing 2019-2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database, 305,955 patients with a diagnosis of HF were selected of which 175,348 (57%) had PSRFs. We further compared these subgroups across non-COVID (2019) and COVID (2020) eras. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed for analysis. In patients with PSRFs, we noted higher 30-day all-cause readmissions, 30-day heart failure readmissions, 30-day all-cause mortality and composite of MACE. Readmissions were higher in both eras, while mortality was significantly higher during the COVID-19 era. This highlights the importance of multidisciplinary care in this vulnerable population.