Heart failure in the elderly

Abstract

The aging of the population is, currently, a major phenomenon, drawing the attention of a number of investigators. The significant increase of life expectancies over the past few decades, in addition to social and economic consequences, has lead to a major change in the morbidity and mortality profile of elders. Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which the heart can not pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. HF is predominantly a disorder of the elderly with rates increasing exponentially. The prevalence of HF approximately doubles with each decade of life. As people live longer, the occurrence of HF rises, as well as other conditions that complicate its treatment. Impaired heart function implies a reduced duration of survival. Fortunately, many factors that can prevent HF and improve outcome are known and can be applied at any stage. This review emphasizes the importance of factors inherent in aging itself, focusing on heart disease, particularly as a disease of aging, can help critically refine management of this acute and chronic disease, as well as foster preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of this common malady.

Prevalence of heart failure in the elderly and future projections: the AGES-Reykjavík study

“…More aggressive invasive treatment with percutaneous coronary interventions and thrombolytic therapy leads to less myocardial damage and more patients surviving with better LV function [34]. However, as these survivors grow older they also develop other concomitant age related disorders that can lead to HF, thus contributing to the increasing prevalence of HF in the future [1,4,29,35]. …”

Tet2-Mediated Clonal Hematopoiesis Accelerates Heart Failure Through a Mechanism Involving the IL-1β/NLRP3 Inflammasome

“…The prevalence of heart failure approximately doubles with each decade of life (1,2), and due to dramatic increases in the aging population, the heart failure epidemic is anticipated to grow significantly in the coming decades (3). While aging is the major risk factor for heart failure and overall cardiovascular disease, we do not have a clear understanding of how this condition promotes disease progression.…”

<p>Epidemiology of heart failure and trends in diagnostic work-up: a retrospective, population-based cohort study in Sweden</p>

“…Diagnosis of HF is challenging, particularly so in the elderly because many of the characteristic signs and symptoms are non-specific and serve only to raise suspicion of HF rather than to give a definitive diagnosis, thus limiting their diagnostic value. 14 , 15 With evolving changes in patient demographics and overall HF management, including diagnostic procedures and treatment regimens, there is need for an improved understanding of the temporal trends in the epidemiology of HF. In particular, an insight into changes in HF annual incidence rate and prevalence is necessary to inform healthcare stakeholders on the burden of HF to determine its impact on allocation of hospital resources.…”