Heart Failure Rates In Ontario Have Decreased By 33% Over A Decade

Date: Aug-21-2012Over the last decade the number of new heart failure cases in Ontario has decreased by 33%, which indicates that preventive efforts may be working even though the mortality rate for those with the disease is still high. The study is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

One of the main reasons of hospital admissions is heart failure. Heart failure has a high death rate and over the last few decades, incidences have increased. In the year 2000, in Canada, heart failure was responsible for the highest number of days in hospital, yet some evidence exists that the number and severity of heart failures may be getting lower.

The team evaluated heart failure trends in Ontario from 1997 to 2007 in a large study population that unlike the majority of studies included the number of outpatients with diagnosed heart failure. They identified 419,551 incidents of heart failure, of which 216,190 required an admission to hospital, whilst the remaining 203,361 were treated as outpatients at the initial diagnosis. 80% of all incidents occurred in patients above the age of 65 years. Those who needed to be admitted to hospital were older and had more health issues, including diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The team observed that the 1-year mortality rates declined slowly from 35.7% to 33.8% in those admitted to hospital and from 17.7% to 16.2% for outpatients.

Jack Tu, from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto, the Schulich Heart Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and the University of Toronto, said "We saw a 32.7% decline in the incidence of heart failure cases in Ontario between 1997 and 2007, which translates to a 3% average annual decline; this is similar to the rates of decline previously observed in overall cardiovascular disease mortality and incidence of ischemic heart disease events in Canada."

According to the researchers, the decline in heart failure rates could be the result of preventive efforts to better control smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol, all of which can reduce the rates of ischemic heart disease, i.e. leading causes of heart failure.

They conclude:

"Hypertension is the second most important cause of heart failure and other studies have shown that Ontario has one of the highest rates of blood pressure control in recent years, which may also contribute to fewer patients with incident heart failure. Although the results of our study are encouraging, the population continues to age and risk factors for heart failure such as diabetes and obesity are increasing, particularly in young people, which may cause the downward trend in incidence of heart failure to plateau or reverse."

Written by Petra Rattue

Copyright: Medical News Today

Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.