Hyponatremia Leads to More Complications in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients

Heart failure patients who had hyponatremia when hospitalized were more likely to experience complications, but did not have elevated levels of short-term mortality or readmission.

According to the results of a recent study published in Cardiology, hyponatremia increased the risk of clinical complications during admission for patients hospitalized for heart failure but was not associated with increased risk of short-term mortality or readmission.

The study included 973 acute decompensated heart failure patients, 15% of whom had hyponatremia, defined as a serum sodium level under 135 mmol/L. The researchers found that “clinical complications and pleural effusion during admission were higher in the patients with hyponatremia (35.41%, P< 0.001)” compared with those who did not have the condition. The hyponatremia group also experienced “more worsening of basal renal function, more hyperpotasemia, more need for vasoactive and hypotensive drugs, more need for hemofiltration, more frequency of acute confusional status, and more frequency of UTIs” than the group with normal serum sodium levels.

To read the full story on HCPLive.com, click here.