Introduction:

Heart failure (HF), like diabetes mellitus, significantly impacts patients’ quality of life and mortality. Both conditions are physio-pathologically linked, making it relevant to compare the characteristics of patients with both conditions to those with HF without diabetes within the healthcare context of Costa Rica.

Objective:

The study aimed to describe and compare the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of heart failure patients in Costa Rica from 2016 to 2019 according with the presence or absence of diagnosed diabetes mellitus.

Methods:

A descriptive study was performed based on the National Heart Failure Registry in Costa Rica was conducted. Epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics were compared based on diagnosed diabetes mellitus.

Results:

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in heart failure (HF) patients was higher in the group of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) compared to patients without DM, and even higher than that documented in the general population of Costa Rica. There was a higher incidence of chronic renal failure and anemia in the group of patients with HF and diabetes. Additionally, the combination of HF with DM was associated with higher presence of ischemic and hypertensive heart disease compared to the comparator group. The most frequently indicated therapies for the treatment of HF were consistent with current HF management guidelines.

Conclusions:

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in patients with heart failure was shown to be higher compared to patients without heart failure. The comparison of the evaluated characteristics is consistent with the profile described in other latitudes.