Trends in long-term cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in men and women with heart failure of ischemic versus non-ischemic aetiology in Western Australia between 1990 and 2005

Int J Cardiol. 2012 Jul 26;158(3):405-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2011.01.061. Epub 2011 Feb 21.

Abstract

Background: It is uncertain if improvements in long-term cardiovascular (CV) mortality have occurred in both men and women with ischemic and non-ischemic forms of heart failure (HF).

Methods: The Western Australia Hospital Morbidity Database was used to identify all index (first-ever) hospitalizations for HF between 1990 and 2005. Patients were followed until death attributed to cardiovascular causes or censored on December 31, 2006 to determine 5-year survival. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare the adjusted mortality hazard ratio (HR) during the study follow-up (4-year periods).

Results: A total of 21,507 patients (mean age 73.9 years, 49.1% women) were identified. Women were significantly older than men, and less likely to have ischemic HF (38.8% versus 46.1%). Over the period, age-standardized incidence of first HF hospitalization declined but with the least decline in women with non-ischemic HF (-13.3%) compared to other subgroups. Risk-adjusted 5-year CV mortality declined over the study period, with HR 0.64 (95% CI 0.60-0.68) for patients admitted in 1998-2001 compared to 1990-1993, with significant improvement in both forms of HF, and in both sexes and across age groups. However, overall total HF hospitalizations increased (+26.7%) over the period, particularly for non-ischemic HF (+43.7%), of which elderly women formed the predominant group.

Conclusions: Risk-adjusted long-term survival improved similarly in men and women, including the elderly, with ischemic and non-ischemic forms of HF during 1990-2005 in Western Australia. However, there was a growing burden of HF hospitalizations particularly for HF of non-ischemic aetiology.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Databases, Factual / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Heart Failure / etiology*
  • Heart Failure / mortality*
  • Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Morbidity
  • Mortality / trends
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Myocardial Ischemia / complications*
  • Myocardial Ischemia / mortality*
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Distribution
  • Western Australia / epidemiology