Heart Failure Represents Considerable Global Health Concern

FRIDAY, Feb. 12, 2021 -- The absolute numbers of heart failure prevalent cases and years lived with disability (YLD) increased from 1990 to 2017, according to a study published online Feb. 12 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Nicola Luigi Bragazzi, M.D., Ph.D., from Xiangya Hospital in Changsha, China, and colleagues collected data on the prevalence, YLD, and underlying causes of heart failure from the Global Burden of Disease study 2017 for 195 countries and territories.

The researchers found that in 2017, the age-standardized prevalence and YLD rates of heart failure were 831.0 and 128.2 per 100,000 people, representing a decrease of −7.2 and −0.9 percent, respectively, from 1990. However, from 1990, there were increases of 91.9 and 106.0 percent, respectively, in the absolute numbers of heart failure prevalent cases and YLDs. From 1990 to 2017, the investigators observed significant geographic and sociodemographic variation in the levels and trends of heart failure burden. Ischemic heart disease accounted for the highest proportion of age-standardized prevalence rate of heart failure in 2017, followed by hypertensive heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (26.5, 26.2, and 23.4 percent, respectively).

"Heart failure is a global public health concern. Public health workers and policymakers can use the data provided in this study to design interventions to prevent and manage heart failure in their countries," Bragazzi said in a statement. "In addition, educational campaigns are needed to increase awareness about the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles."

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Posted: February 2021