The aim of the study is to develop and assess a prognostic model for patient's survival up to 1 year after unscheduled acute heart failure hospital admission in England and Wales.

There is a need for a prognostic model for 1 year survival of patients discharged alive after an unscheduled hospital admission for heart failure. This study aims to develop and validate a prognostic model that will enable management planning and facilitate the identification of therapeutic needs or targets. Also, it will assist care providers to predict or quantify patients' survival based on their baseline characteristics.

The National Heart Failure Audit (NHFA) held by National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR) is one of the largest available national heart failure registry. It includes data from unscheduled heart failure admissions in England and Wales. In the audit, heart failure diagnosis is defined as a diagnosis that has been confirmed by imaging or brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurement. This study will use NHFA data to develop and validate the proposed model.

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 18 and above
• survived to discharge
• have mortality status at 1 year post-discharge

Exclusion Criteria:

Non-index heart failure admissions during the study period will be excluded from the study sample.

Unscheduled heart failure admissions in England and Wales are recorded in the National Heart Failure Audit. Therefore, patients with data in the audit will be eligible for inclusion if they meet the inclusion criteria listed below.