around 920,000 people in the UK today have been diagnosed with heart failure (1)
the incidence and prevalence of heart failure increase steeply with age, and the average age at diagnosis is 77
overall prevalence of heart failure is rising because of population ageing and increasing rates of obesity
men have a higher risk of getting HF than women in all age groups but there are more women than men with HF due to population demographics (1,2)
most common cause of CHF is coronary heart disease (CHD), which accounts for around two-thirds of cases, and there is usually a history of myocardial infarction (MI)
remainder of cases have a non-ischaemic cause, for example hypertension, valvular disease, and arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation. Advancing age, smoking, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes mellitus are among the associated risk factors
mortality rates as high as 50% within four years have been suggested
about half of deaths from heart failure are sudden deaths
estimated that heart failure accounts for around 2% of all inpatient bed-days and 5% of all medical emergency admissions
prevalence of definite or probable heart failure of 3.1%, based on echocardiographic assessment
prevalence rises sharply with age from about 1 in 35 people aged 65-74 years, to about 1 in 15 of those aged 75-84 years, and to just over 1 in 7 in those aged 85 years and above
prevalence of CHF is increasing owing to higher survival rates from MI and the increasing elderly population
in recent times the prevalence of HF with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction has increased which seems to reflect the rise in prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation and obesity (1,2)
annually a GP will look after 30 people with HF out of which a new diagnosis of HF will be suspected in around 10 patients (2).
Notes:
infections, anaemia, alcohol abuse, side effects of medicines such as non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and noncompliance with prescribed drugs can exacerbate heart failure
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