Pellicori and Cleland
1
are correct that heart failure is a serious public health problem and is a leading cause of hospitalization. The most frequent cause of heart failure is coronary heart disease.2
In 2010, there were 287,000 US deaths due to coronary heart disease, and 58,000 deaths due to heart failure.
3
Their statement that “few people die of coronary disease without first developing heart failure” is incorrect.
We predict that the 20th century will be the last century in which heart disease was the number one cause of death in the US because the commonest cause of heart disease deaths, coronary heart disease, declined by 64% from 1980 until 2008 and continues to decline.
4
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI). NHLBI Morbidity and Mortality: 2012 Chart Book on Cardiovascular, Lung and Blood Diseases. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/docs/2012_ChartBook_508.pdf. Accessed May 16, 2014.
References
- Is the Epidemic of Heart Disease Really Over or Just Evolving?.Am J Med. 2015; 128: e17
- Epidemiology, aetiology and prognosis of heart failure.Heart. 2000; 83: 596-602
- Heart disease and stroke statistics—2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association.Circulation. 2014; 129: e28-e292
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI). NHLBI Morbidity and Mortality: 2012 Chart Book on Cardiovascular, Lung and Blood Diseases. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/docs/2012_ChartBook_508.pdf. Accessed May 16, 2014.
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© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Is the Epidemic of Heart Disease Really Over or Just Evolving?The American Journal of MedicineVol. 128Issue 3
