• Carmen Barrio Ruiz, Neus Parellada Esquius, Carlos Alvarado Montesdeoca, Daniel Moll Casamitjana, María Dolores Muñoz Segura, and César Romero Menor.
• Centro de Salud Camps Blancs, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, España. cbarrio.cp.ics@gencat.cat
• Aten Primaria. 2010 Mar 1; 42 (3): 134140134-40.

ObjectiveOur aim was to find out the situation of heart failure (HF) in primary care.DesignCross-sectional multicentre study.SettingFour primary health care centres and a hospital in an urban area of Barcelona.ParticipantsFrom a registered population of 35,212 inhabitants older than 45 years, we studied all patients (333) diagnosed with HF in 2006 in primary care.MeasurementsA standardised questionnaire was used to record demographic, clinical and treatment data.ResultsThere were 61.4% females. Mean age was 74.5 (standard deviation [SD]: 10) for men and 79 (SD: 9.8) for women. A total of 46% of patients had HF for <5 years. The comorbidity diagnosis and at the beginning of the study were: hypertension 65.4% and 73%, diabetes 33.6% and 40%, dyslipaemia 40% and 53%, coronary disease 30% and 27%, and valvular disease 23.7% and 27%, respectively. A total of 64% of patients had registered New York Heart Association functional class (48% class II, 30% III and 6.6% IV). Blood pressure was controlled in 36% men and 20.5% women (P=0.002); 75.4% had an electrocardiogram, 57% X-ray; 58% of men and 46% of women (P=0.02) had echocardiography. The most prescribed drugs were diuretics 85.3%, the least, beta blockers 27%.ConclusionsPatients with HF in primary care are elderly females with a lot of comorbidities. We must be concerned by the suboptimal use of basic investigations (electrocardiogram and X-ray) and beta blocker treatments.Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

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