JAKARTA, AYOBANDUNG.COM — Young and middle-aged people have a higher risk of heart failure than the elderly. The condition of heart failure increased dramatically due to hypertension, diabetes, and smoking.
Suara.com Launching from Medical Xpress reports, this study, published in the BMJ, underscores the need for behavioral interventions to prevent heart failure.
“If we focus on these younger, middle-aged individuals and reduce obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking, we may be able to make a big difference,” says Sanjiv Shah, MD, who is also professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology.
Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for people over the age of 65, and is often considered a disease associated with aging.
However, the last decade has seen an increase in the number of cases in younger and middle-aged people, which warrants closer examination of the risk factors in this population.
In the study, Shah and his colleagues analyzed three large epidemiological cohorts. The study population was nearly 25,000 people.
During a median follow-up of 12.7 years, approximately 1% of patients under 55 years of age, 10% of patients 55 to 64 years of age, and 18% of patients 65 years of age developed heart failure. Risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, current smoking history and myocardial infarction.
Hypertension was associated with a threefold increase in the risk of future heart failure in young participants compared with a 1.4-fold risk in older participants.
However Shah emphasized that there are limitations to interpreting the results of this study. The impact of risk factors may be somewhat masked in older individuals because hypertension and diabetes are more common among the older population.
“With younger individuals, we have a greater chance of intervening and preventing heart failure,” concluded Shah.
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