Summer is finally here and with Men’s Health Month just passing, it’s the perfect time to have real conversations with the special guys in your life about their heart health, including what they should know about chronic heart failure.
About 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure. One in nine deaths in 2009 included heart failure (HF) as a contributing cause. About half of people who develop heart failure die within 5 years of diagnosis. Heart failure costs the nation an estimated $30.7 billion each year.
Nearly 50% of all HF cases are characterized as a certain type of long-lasting HF, where the heart is unable to pump blood around the body efficiently. Data indicate that more men than women suffer from this form of HF, and men may also experience worse outcomes, including a higher rate of first HF hospitalization as well as the risk of cardiovascular death. One of the main victim groups of this epidemic is Black men.
“Ultimately, the risk factors tell the story here,” said Dr. Andrew Darlington, D.O., a cardiologist specializing in advanced HF from Atlanta, GA. “Diabetes, high cholesterol, and mostly