Death Among Heart Failure Patients Has Halved Over Last 6 Years

Thanks to more effective medicines and treatments, death among heart failure patients has halved over the last 6 years. Also, incidence of stroke and heart attack after discharge fell over the first half of this decade.

— The death rate for patients admitted with a severe heart attack, where the arteries are completely blocked, went down from 8.4 to 4.5 per cent.
– The risk of heart failure for severe heart attack patients also went down from 20 to 11 per cent.
– The death rate for patients admitted with a milder heart attack, where the arteries are only partially blocked, also went down from 2.9 to 2.0 per cent.
– This equates to 30 fewer deaths and 90 fewer patients with new heart failure per 1,000 hospital admissions.
– Critical heart failure or “cardiogenic shock”, which kills 70 per cent of patients who suffer severe heart attacks, went down from 7.1 to 4.7 per cent among these patients.

Bottom line… Hospitals are staying current and using newer medications and treatment guidelines. This largely contributed to the results of the study.

“This is a great example of why long-term investment in heart research is vital. The study shows that fewer people are dying, and fewer are developing debilitating heart failure thanks to research evidence prompting these hospitals to improve the way they treat people with heart disease.”

via Medical News Today