Heart Failure-Related Deaths Up in Younger Adults in the U.S.

MONDAY, Aug. 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Heart failure-related mortality in young adults increased between 2012 and 2019 in the United States, according to a study published online July 27 in JAMA Cardiology.

Vardhman Jain, M.D., from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and colleagues assessed trends in heart failure-related mortality among young adults (aged 15 to 44 years) using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (1999 through 2019).

The researchers found that the overall age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) for heart failure in young adults increased from 2.36 per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 3.16 in 2019. While heart failure mortality increased in young men and women, men had higher AAMRs during the study period. AAMR increases were seen for all race and ethnicity groups, although Black adults had the highest AAMRs (8.58 in 2019 versus 2.04 for Hispanic and 2.45 for White adults). The burden of heart failure-related mortality varied significantly by region, with Oklahoma, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi in the upper 90th percentile of heart failure-related mortality.

"Targeted health policy measures are needed to address the rising burden of heart failure in young adults, with a focus on prevention, early diagnosis, and reduction in disparities," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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