Temporal Trends of Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure in Korea

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) presents a growing global health challenge with increasing prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs.
• Korea is experiencing a rise in HF patients, mirroring worldwide trends.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze temporal trends in hospitalized heart failure patients in Korea.
• To evaluate the development of HF patient care in Korea.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of temporal trends from four Korean hospitalized heart failure registries: Hallym HF study, Korean Multicenter HF study, Korean Heart Failure (KorHF) registry, and Korean Acute Heart Failure (KorAHF) registry.
• Examination of changes in patient severity, comorbidities, device therapies, and definitive treatments.

Main Results:

• A mild improvement in survival rates was observed, reflecting advancements in overall HF patient care in Korea.
• Despite survival improvements, enrolled patients exhibited increased severity and a higher incidence of multiple comorbidities.
• There has been an increase in the utilization of device therapies (implantable cardioverter defibrillator, cardiac resynchronization therapy) and heart transplantation.

Conclusions:

• Effective long-term strategies are essential to prevent an increase in HF burden.
• Controlling risk factors such as ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes is vital for HF prevention.
• Implementation of proper HF guidelines, performance measures, and improvement programs is necessary to mitigate the impact of HF.