Older men with heart failure survive longer - study
By Joanne MorrisonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Heart failure among the elderly has increased, but men 65 and older are surviving longer than women with the disease, according to a study published on Monday.
In the retrospective study, researchers examined medical records comparing heart failure in two periods, 1970-74 and 1990-94, of both men and women age 65 and older. The study found heart failure rose by 14 percent from the 1970-74 time period.
"Those 65 years and older are the high-risk age group for heart failure," said William Barker, lead author of the study published in the American Heart Association Journal. "That population accounts for more than 80 percent of heart failure deaths and prevalence."
While heart failure increased, the five-year adjusted death rates fell by a "significant 33 percent among men and showed a borderline decrease of 24 percent among women," Barker said.
He suggested the larger increase in the survival rate among men may stem from the fact that women appear to have more co-existing diseases such as diabetes, cancer and pulmonary disease. In addition, more women in the age group are in nursing homes, which is an indication of frailty.
Heart failure results when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body. Symptoms include shortness of breath and fatigue.
A separate study published on Monday in the journal showed more than half of men and nearly 40 percent of women in the United States during their lifetimes would develop cardiovascular disease, the nation's No. 1 killer.
At age 50, the average lifetime risk of developing cardiovascular disease before age 95 is 51.7 percent for men and 39.2 percent for women. The most striking finding was the high risk linked with having several major risk factors at age 50. Among them, diabetes was seen as the highest risk for bringing on the disease.
"Clearly, prevention efforts need to begin decades before age 50, since even the presence of a single major risk factor at age 50 substantially raises the lifetime risk of CVD and markedly shorter survival," said lead author Donald Lloyd-Jones.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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