BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Congestive heart failure is one of the most frequent problems in cardiovascular patients. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of patients hospitalized with congestive heart failure in Korea.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Nine university hospitals were involved, and gathered prospective clinical data on patients with heart failure. One thousand eight hundred and sixty four patients, admitted between Jan.1 1998 and Aug. 31 2003, were enrolled, and data from 1,759 patients were analyzed.

RESULTS: The cumulative survival rates at 6 month, and 1 and 2 years were 90.8, 80.1 and 76.4%, respectively. Ischemic heart disease was the most frequent underlying disease (32.3%). Diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.682, 95%CI: 1.234-2.389, p=0.005), a previous history of myocardial infarction (OR: 2.521, 95%CI: 1.742-4.258, p<0.0001) and cerebrovascular accidents (OR: 2.020, 95%CI: 1.166-3.101, p=0.001) were the worst prognostic factors.

CONCLUSION: Ischemic heart disease was the major cause of heart failure. The two year survival rate of patients with congestive heart failure was 76.4%. The factors relating to a poor prognosis were diabetes, a previous history of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accidents.