Nearly One-Quarter of People in the U.S. Will Develop Heart Failure in Their Lifetime

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One in 4 people in the U.S. will develop heart failure in their lifetime, according to a new report from the Heart Failure Society of America. Rates are up from a previous estimate of 1 in 5. By 2030, 8.5 million people in the U.S. over the age of 20 are expected to have heart failure.

Heart failure is most common in Black people over the age of 60. Those living in the Midwest, Southeast, and the Southern states are also disproportionately affected. Rural areas, when compared with urban areas, saw the largest number of heart failure deaths across all age groups. Incremental adjusted annual medical costs per patient are at $3,594, and total costs are at $32,955, according to the society’s report, which was published in September in the Journal of Cardiac Failure.

Diabetes, hypertension, and tobacco use have a higher association with heart failure in women than in men. Congenital heart disease has a higher association with heart failure in men than in women.

“The inaugural HF Stats (SM) report has uncovered some truly remarkable and sobering data about the state of heart failure in the U.S. and around the world,” Biykem Bozkurt, M.D., Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine and chair of the HFSA Data in HF Committee said in a press release. “As providers, we are all doing our best to take care of our patients living with heart failure, but it's clear that more work needs to be done on early prevention, recognition, and treatment of our patients to reduce mortality and rehospitalizations.”

A new report will be release yearly on the Heart Failure Society of America website in addition to a searchable online database of heart failure statistics.