Brief information about the incidence of heart failure in the U.S. Heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization in the elderly. Nearly five million Americans now suffer from heart failure, and as the population ages the incidence of congestive heart failure is rising dramatically. The positive side of this report is that people are living longer with heart failure. To support this, a recent study reported a decline in death rates in patients with heart failure, particularly in African Americans.
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. They also have a higher rate of high blood pressure and diabetes, two major risk factors for congestive heart failure, but the difference can also be accounted for by disparities in the care received by each group. A family history of early congestive heart failure caused by cardiomyopathies may predispose people to the disease. Other conditions, such as smoking and sedentary living, that make one susceptible to coronary artery disease, are therefore risk factors for congestive heart disease. Alcohol abuse, which damages the heart, also predisposes a person to heart failure.