According to current statistics from the American Heart Association, there are about five million heart failure patients in the United States, and 550,000 new cases of heart failure diagnosed in the United States every year. This includes 10 out of every 1,000 people over the age of 65. Of newly diagnosed patients under the age of 65, about 80 percent of the men and 70 percent of the women will die within eight years. In people diagnosed with heart failure, sudden cardiac death occurs at six to nine times the rate of the general population.
About heart failure
Heart failure is a serious condition in which the heart’s pumping action is compromised. In the early stages, heart failure may not have any symptoms. In the later stages, the patient may have severe symptoms because their weakened heart is unable to pump enough oxygen-rich blood with each contraction to satisfy the body. These symptoms may include shortness of breath (dyspnea) that initially occurs only during exercise, and later even while at rest.
Heart failure is a chronic and complex condition. By itself, heart failure is not considered a disease. Rather, it is the result of other conditions that damaged the heart. These other conditions include diseases of the coronary arteries that lay on the surface of the heart, heart valve disorders, high blood pressure and damage to the heart muscle itself.
