An Honest Look At Heart Failure

Heart failure affects thousands of individuals and is considered a serious and life-threatening disease. This is why researchers have continued to find better methods and develop better technology to treat heart failure. Despite scientific advancements, there is still no cure for heart failure. Professionals are finding more ways to increase the life expectancy of patients and improve overall quality of life.

Incidence Of Heart Failure

Each year, there is an estimated 15 million new cases of heart failure around the world. In the United States alone, there are around 500,000 new cases diagnosed yearly. Those in the U.S. who are presently in heart failure are even more in number. The unfortunate fact is these numbers continue to increase, especially when it comes to those over the age of 65. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in older patients.

It remains alarming that the prognosis for chronic heart failure is still very poor. This finding is not excluding the several new advances that have been developed such as cardiac assist devices and drug therapy. Patients with mild heart failure have one year mortality figures that is around 10 percent, 15-30 percent for those with mild to moderate heart failure, and up to 50-60 percent for those who are diagnosed with severe heart failure. Generally, half of the individuals diagnosed with heart failure survive for 5 years, and those who survive more than 8-12 years is 20 percent.

Age And Heart Failure

Studies have shown that adults 67 years of age and older are able to survive after 6 years, but the numbers are very low. The findings have even been compared to the prognosis of most types of cancer—it has been suggested that the prognosis of heart failure may even be worse.

Gender And Heart Failure

Documentation has shown that over a decade ago, 25 percent of women and 20 percent of men lived for 6 years after being hospitalized due to congestive heart failure. A third did not survive a year. Studies have shown that women had better chances of surviving than men. However, only 20 percent of the women survived more than 8 to 12 years.

The Positive Effects Of Early Diagnosis And Treatment

Patients who were also diagnosed with high blood pressure or coronary heart disease had better chances of surviving longer. Early treatment and immediate care from healthcare professionals have helped delay the progression of heart disease in patients.

Today, the fatality rate for congestive heart failure remains high. Sudden death due to heart failure is considered a frequent incident in patients. Up to this date, there is still no known substantial improvement in the prognosis of heart failure cases. Physicians are still fighting to improve the prognosis of patients with heart failure. They are continuously investigating and implementing therapies recognized to reduce the morbidity and mortality in heart failure. Proposals have been made in efforts to enroll more patients—especially minorities and women who are underrepresented—in trials surrounding heart failure.