Heart Failure More Fatal Than Common Cancers

Despite advances in healthcare, new research shows that men and women suffering from heart failure have a higher risk of death than people with most common types of cancer. As heart failure is a leading cause of death worldwide, the finding will be important in informing strategies to improve the outcomes of heart failure patients. The study led by Keele University, in collaboration with the Universities of Aberdeen and Manchester, is reported in European Journal of Heart Failure.

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"Our study shows that despite advances in the treatment of heart failure with newer drugs and devices, mortality rates remain significant and heart failure remains as malignant as many of the common cancers,” said lead author Professor Mamas Mamas, Professor of Cardiology at Keele University and Consultant Cardiologist at the Royal Stoke Hospital, University Hospital North Midlands Trust.

For this study, anonymised data was gathered between 2000 and 2011 from 393 general practices in Scotland. The dataset (PCCIU) used included patient information for approximately a third of the Scottish population and represented a mixture of age and gender, as well as a range of people geographically and economically.

For men, the four most common cancers are prostate, lung, colorectal, and bladder; while for women, they are breast, colorectal, lung, and ovarian. Diagnoses of cancer and heart failure were at similar ages in men, but women typically experienced heart failure later in life. In addition, only 5.5 percent of either gender suffering from heart failure did not have another disease, compared to 20-38 percent of cancer patients.

“Older patients with heart failure also have other co-morbid diseases, and therefore understanding of outcome in this patient group is important for clinicians," said Professor Phyo Kyaw Myint, University of Aberdeen. "This study also reminds us that observational studies are important in clinical research because clinical trials do not include the typical older people we manage in day to day clinical practice.”

The findings highlight the potential impact of heart failure to the public, who hopefully will take proactive steps to prevent it, according to Dr. Matt Sperrin, Health eResearch Centre at The University of Manchester.

Source: Keele University
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