The Burden of Heart Failure in North America and Western Europe

Abstract

Background: We depict the burden of heart failure (HF) in North America (NA) and Western Europe (WE), using a cyclical flow diagram of patients from diagnosis/hospitalization until treatment, stabilization and decompensation/death. Materials & methods: We obtained data on HF hospitalizations, prevalence, severity and treatment from national databases and primary/secondary research. Results: In 2020, we estimate 3.6 and 5.2 million HF hospitalizations, and 7.6 and 8.7 million diagnosed prevalent chronic HF (CHF) cases in NA and WE, respectively. All hospitalized HF and 86-88% of prevalent cases are drug-treated. The most widely prescribed drugs for CHF in NA and WE are β-blockers and loop diuretics, respectively. Conclusion: The high burden of HF in NA and WE calls for greater efforts to prevent ischemic heart disease.

Keywords:

• acute heart failure
• chronic heart failure
• loop diuretics
• NYHA functional class
• β-blockers

Author contributions

S Goonesekera conducted secondary research on the epidemiology of acute and chronic heart failure in North America and Western Europe, analyzed hospital databases and authored the manuscript. D Rudnicka-Noulin conducted primary and secondary research on heart failure treatment in Northern America and Western Europe and co-authored the manuscript. A Isherwood supervised the project and reviewed the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

All authors are employed by Decision Resources Group, part of Clarivate. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

This project does not involve animal experimentation nor active participation of human subjects. The hospitalization data were obtained from databases that anonymized all participants.