Referring Physician Information

Patient/Visitor Guide Mission Statement History of Heart Transplantation Highlights Statistics & Outcomes Transplant Team Financial Information Patient Information Referring Physician 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.

TOPICS OF INTEREST
Treatment Plan Options	Possible Complications
Surgical Options	Medications
Additional Surgical Options	Research
Referral Process	Clinical Trials
Listing for Transplant	Publications
Clinical Pathways

Related Sites

• American Heart Association www.americanheart.org

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute www.nhlbi.nih.gov