Temporal trends in incidence of heart failure in relation to age and gender in western Sweden 2008–2017

Abstract Background During the last decades we have witnessed gradually improved cardiovascular primary and secondary prevention, while life expectancy is increasing, with a growing population of elderly people. Heart failure is a disease of the elderly and end stage of other cardiac diseases. Accordingly, trends in incidence of heart failure are dynamic and may differ by age and gender Purpose To investigate overall trends in incidence for HF over the last decades in Western Sweden. Additionally we wanted to study incidence in relation to age and gender. Method The VEGA database is an administrative database of all patients managed in hospital care (through direct linkage to the Swedish nationwide patient registry) and/or in primary care facilities (private and public) living in Western Sweden. All patients with a main or contributory diagnosis of HF (I50) >18 years of age between 2008 and 2017 were included in our cohort. HF incidence was calculated based on the entire population of Vastra Gotaland (a region of Western Sweden). Results The adult population in Western Sweden increased by 8% from 2008 (n=1,234,609) to 2017 (n=1,338,906), with 69% 80 years of age with incidence rates dropping from 4.4% to 3.0% between 2008–2017 (80–90 years) and from 7.8 to 5.5% in the same period (>90 years of age). A similar pattern was seen in both men and women in these age groups with incidence decreasing over the last ten years. Conclusion The overall incidence of HF remained unchanged over the last decade. However a declining trend in incidence was observed in the oldest part of the population, who, however, constitutes only approximately 5% of the population. Our findings emphasize the need for implementation of effective preventive strategies for HF. Trends in HF incidence 2007-2018 Funding Acknowledgement Type of fund