The liver may also be enlarged. Although their appetites are often depressed, patients with congestive heart failure gain weight because they retain salt and water. Heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization in the elderly. More than three million Americans now suffer from heart failure, and as the population ages the incidence of congestive heart failure is rising radically. The rate of new cases more than doubled from 377,000 in 1979 to 822,000 in 1992.
Men are at higher risk than women, although the difference narrows with age.
African Americans are at higher risk for the disease than white Americans and are two and a half times more likely to die from it before age 65. It is most dangerous in African American women. A family history of early congestive heart failure caused by cardiomyopathies may predispose people to the disease. Other conditions that make one susceptible to coronary artery disease and therefore congestive heart disease are smoking and sedentary living. Alcohol abuse, which damages the heart, also predisposes a person to heart failure.