(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Seniors are being treated for heart failure at alarming rates. A new study warns rates are now at epidemic proportions.
The prevention and treatment of heart failure has become an urgent public health need with national implications, Longjian Liu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia, Penn., was quoted as saying.
It’s estimated 5.3 million Americans live with heart failure, with an additional 660,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Patients are diagnosed with heart failure when any part of the heart muscle weakens and the heart cannot adequately supply the body with enough oxygen and nutrient-rich blood. Heart failure can make everyday activities difficult to perform, cause shortness of breath and fatigue.
In this latest study, Dr. Liu and his colleagues found the number of patients hospitalized for heart failure has increased 131 percent since 1980. Women’s hospitalization rates increased more dramatically than men’s with a 55 percent annual increase compared to 20 percent for men.
It’s projected heart failure will directly and indirectly cost the United States $34.8 billion this year.
Because heart failure disproportionately affects the elderly, there is no doubt that the burden of heart failure will increase unless innovative strategies are implemented, Dr. Liu said. The key is to prevent risk factors for the disease.
SOURCE: Presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2008 in New Orleans, November 8-12, 2008
