Disease Information

• 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 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.
• Heart failure contributes to about 287,000 deaths a year.
• Sudden death is problematic in patients with CHF, occurring at a rate of six to nine times that of the general population.
• Improved medical, surgical and device therapies are resulting in improved outcomes in heart failure.

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