Changes of etiology and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure: 20year study

AIM:To investigate the etiologies and mortalities in patients with chronic heart failure during the years of 1990, 2000 and 2010. METHODS: Hospital records with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure during these 3 years were analyzed. RESULTS: In the 2 476 cases under study, the mean age was (60±17) years and the mean ages for 1990, 2000 and 2010 were, respectively, (52±16) years, (59±17) years and (64±15) years, with an increasing tendency (P<0.05). Significant etiological changes showed that the rate of coronary heart disease rose from 356% to 492%, whereas rheumatic valvular heart diseases declined from 35.2% to 16.6% (P<0.05). During these 3 years, mortality rates were, respectively, 6.9%, 4.5% and 5.1% and the mortalities of heart failure in 2000 and 2010 were lower than in 1990 (P<0.05). The mortality of heart failure decreased most dramatically in the last 10 years. CONCLUSION: Coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and rheumatic valvular heart disease are the primary diseases causing heart failure during the period from 1990-2010, with the former three diseases exhibiting an upward trend and the last one a downward trend.The mortality exhibits a downward trend and decreases most significantly in patients with coronary heart disease.