## 3 Results  
### Health Profiles in HTU and ADHF  
After age and sex matching, 45 patients with HTU and 45 patients with ADHF were selected to be included in this pilot study. Their sociodemographic characteristics are given in Table 1. No significant inter-group differences existed with respect to sex distribution, area of origin, smoking status, diabetes, or presence of tachyarrhythmia (Table 1). However, ADHF patients showed a significantly higher incidence of renal dysfunction compared to those presenting to the ED with HTU (Table 1). Median values (with lower and upper quartiles) for age, SBP, DBP, LAD, LVD, LVDVD, LVESV, IVSd, ADMA, NT-proBNP, ESR, CRP, ALC, ANC, RDW-CV, RDW-SD, hemoglobin, GFR, serum urea, serum uric acid, random glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, AST, and ALT are given in Table 2. The measured values for length of hospital stay, serum TRAIL, HR, and EF are illustrated in Figure 1a-d, and those for serum creatinine (at admission and discharge), serum sodium (at admission and discharge), and serum potassium (at admission and discharge) in Figure 2a-c. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Characteristic** & **Strata** & **HTU Patients** & **ADHF Patients** & \(p\) \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Sex} & Male & 24 (53.34\%) & 28 (62.22\%) & \multirow{2}{*}{0.521} \\  & Female & 21 (46.66\%) & 17 (37.78\%) & \\ \cline{2-5}  & Rural & 30 (66.67\%) & 23 (51.12\%) & \multirow{2}{*}{0.198} \\  & Urban & 15 (33.33\%) & 22 (48.88\%) & \\ \cline{2-5}  & Yes & 18 (40\%) & 12 (26.67\%) & \multirow{2}{*}{0.263} \\ Smoking status & No & 27 (60\%) & 33 (72.32\%) & \\ \cline{2-5}  & Yes & 16 (35.56\%) & 23 (51.12\%) & \multirow{2}{*}{0.137} \\ Diabetes & No & 29 (64.44\%) & 22 (48.88\%) & \\ \cline{2-5}  & Yes & 17 (37.78\%) & 23 (48.78\%) & \\ \cline{2-5}  & No & 28 (63.22\%) & 22 (50.22\%) & \\ \cline{2-5} Renal dysfunction & Yes & 12 (26.67\%) & 26 (57.77\%) & \\ \cline{2-5}  & No & 33 (73.33\%) & 19 (42.23\%) & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Data are shown as absolute values with the corresponding percentages in parentheses. Marked values (*) show significant differences compared to HF patients (c\({}^{2}\) tests, ***- \(p<\) 0.001, **-\(p<\) 0.01, **-\(p<\) 0.05).  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions in patients with ADHF or HTU. In patients hospitalized with either HTU or ADHF, median SBP, CRP, HbA1C, and serum uric acid were above the normal range. Median LVESV was above the normal range in the latter strata. The median values corresponding to the other continuous variables were within normal limits. Statistical analysis revealed no age differences between individuals hospitalized with HTU and ADHF (Table 1). The latter category of patients spent significantly more time in the hospital (Figure 1a; Mann-Whitney U test, 5 days (4; 7) vs. 4 days (2; 6), \(p\) = 0.017) and exhibited significantly elevated TRAIL levels (Figure 1b; Mann-Whitney U test, 96 ng/mL (76; 118) vs. 79.5 pg/mL (69.5; 86), \(p\) = 0.024). ADMA concentrations in the two strata were, however, similar (Table 2). No significant inter-group differences were found with respect to SBP and DBP (Table 2). HF patients displayed a significantly faster HR (Figure 1c; Mann-Whitney U test, 90 ppm (72; 110) vs. 80 ppm (72; 90), \(p\) = 0.007), but a significantly lower EF (Figure 1d; Mann-Whitney U test, 40% (30; 50) vs. 55% (45; 60), \(p\) < 0.001). In contrast, the other cardiovascular and echocardiographic variables showed comparable values (Table 1). Serum creatinine in ADHF patients was significantly elevated at discharge versus admission (Figure 2a; Wilcoxon signed-rank test, 1.025 mg/dL (0.88; 1.03) vs. 1.16 (0.89; 1.40), \(p\) = 0.022). The measured values in HTU patients showed, by contrast, a significant reduction at hospital dismissal (Figure 2a; Wilcoxon signed-rank test, 1.1 mg/dL (0.87; 1.26) vs. 0.97 (0.80; 1.24), \(p\) = 0.028).