Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) has officially published the results from its latest report, which reveals that the lifetime risk of heart failure has increased to 24%, whereas on the other hand, the cost associated with the treatment of this condition continues to climb up at a serious pace.
Going by the available details, the given report claims that 6.7 million Americans, over 20 years of age, are currently suffering from HF. More on the same would reveal how this condition was a contributing cause in 425,147 deaths, accounting for a substantial 45% of cardiovascular deaths in the United States during 2022. In case that wasn’t bad enough, the footprint of HF is only expected to rise to 8.7 million by 2030.
From a financial standpoint, the cost of managing HF continues to rise, with projections estimating that total HF-related expenses could reach $858 billion by 2050.
HFSA also took the given opportunity to highlight trends that are actively increasing HF-related expenses. These trends, on their part, include advanced HF—the incidence, prevalence, and outcomes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as the impact of hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic risk factors.
Markedly enough, the survey in question further revealed significant gaps, inconsistencies, and inequalities in the application of guideline-recommended therapies for heart failure. This translates to how fewer than one in four eligible patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction were found to receive quadruple guideline-directed medical therapy.
For better understanding, HFSA’s study projects that optimal implementation of these therapies could potentially save a staggering 1.19 million lives annually worldwide.
Talk about the given report on a slightly deeper level, we begin from how age-adjusted HF mortality rates were discovered to be higher during 2021 than 1999. This uptrend, like you can guess, presents an urgent need for improved HF prevention, implementation of guideline-directed therapies, and further research.
Next up, the survey went on to claim that Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native individuals have the highest all-cause age-adjusted HF mortality rates compared with other racial and ethnic groups.
 In fact, if we narrow down our focus down to the period between 2010 and 2020, HF mortality rates increased for Black individuals at a rate higher than any other racial or ethnic group, particularly for individuals below the age of 65. Not just that, the age-adjusted incidence and prevalence of HF were also reported as higher among Black individuals compared with other racial and ethnic groups.
Another detail worth a mention relates to a piece of data claiming that 24-34% of the U.S. population has pre-HF (Stage B). The risk of developing HF was comparatively higher in individuals with obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.
When comparing 1999-2002 to 2015-2020 data, the proportion of individuals having 3 cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic conditions was also found to have more than doubled.
Moving on, HFSA even got to know about 1.2 million primary HF hospitalizations among 949,075 unique patients that materialized in 2021. The increase was also consistent between age groups and sexes, with the highest rates being among Black individuals.
Hold on, we still have a few bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon how greater than one in four eligible patients, suffering from HF with reduced ejection fraction, said they are receiving quadruple guideline-directed medical therapy. For better understanding, optimal implementation of this therapy archetype could save an estimated 1.19 million lives a year globally
Rounding up highlights would be how heart failure accounted for an estimated $32 billion in direct medical costs and $14 billion in indirect costs during 2020, with projections tipping the same to reach $142 billion by 2050. As far as direct costs are concerned, there is a suggestion that they could reach upto $858 billion by 2050.
“Heart failure is a growing epidemic affecting millions of individuals across all demographics. With a surge in mortality and continued underutilization of evidence-based therapies, it is imperative to prioritize improvements in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart failure,” said Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, Director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center and chair of the HFSA Data in HF Committee.
