- Nearly 5 million Americans are currently living with congestive heart failure (CHF).
- Approximately 550,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.
- Congestive heart failure affects people of all ages, from children and young adults to the middle-aged and the elderly.
- Almost 1.4 million persons with CHF are under 60 years of age.
- CHF is present in 2 percent of persons age 40 to 59.
- More than 5 percent of persons age 60 to 69 have CHF.
- CHF annual incidence approaches 10 per 1,000 population after 65 years of age.
- The incidence of CHF is equally frequent in men and women, and African-Americans are 1.5 times more likely to develop heart failure than Caucasians.
- Heart failure is responsible for 11 million physician visits each year, and more hospitalizations than all forms of cancer combined.
- CHF is the first-listed diagnosis in 875,000 hospitalizations, and the most common diagnosis in hospital patients age 65 years and older.
- In that age group, one-fifth of all hospitalizations have a primary or secondary diagnosis of heart failure.
- More than half of those who develop CHF die within 5 years of diagnosis.
- Heart failure contributes to approximately 287,000 deaths a year.
- Sudden death is common in patients with CHF, occurring at a rate of six to nine times that of the general population.
- Deaths from heart failure have decreased on average by 12 percent per decade for women and men over the past fifty years.
To learn more heart failure statistics: