Heart failure epidemiology

Maisel WH, Stevenson LW. Atrial fibrillation in heart failure epidemiology, pathophysiology, and rationale for therapy. [Review, 48 refs]. Am. J. Cardiol. 2003 91 20. 

Hogg K, Swedberg K, McMurrayJ. Heart failure with preserved left ventricular systolic function epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and prognosis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004 43 317-327. 

Ho KKL, Pinsky JL, Kannel WB, Levy D. 1993. The epidemiology of heart failure The Framingham Study. J Am Coll Cardiol 22 6A. 

Kannel WB, Belanger AJ. Epidemiology of heart failure. Am Heart J 1991 12 951-957. 

FunkM, KrumholzHM. Epidemiologic and economic impact of advanced heart failure. J Cardiovasc Nurs I 996 10(2) I -10. 

Miller LW, Missov ED. Epidemiology of heart failure. Cardiol Clin 2001 19 547-555. 

Kannel, W.B. 1997. Epidemiology of Heart Failure in the United States 279-288. 

Coenzyme QIO is a powerful antioxidant naturally occurring in the mitochondria of myocardium, and it is an electron carrier in the mitochondrial synthesis of ATP. Patients with heart failure have lower myocardial levels of coenzyme QIO, but supplementation has been demonstrated to have variable benefits in randomized controlled trials. One meta-analysis on the use in congestive heart failure showed improvements in stroke volume, ejection fraction, cardiac output, cardiac index, and end diastolic volume index. " Another antioxidant associated with beneficial effects in cardiac patients is lycopene, a natural constituent of tomatoes. Lycopene is the major carotenoid found in human serum, and epidemiological studies have indicated an effect of dietary supplementation in reducing heart disease. Few dietary interventions have been reported one study showed a mild but significant hypocholesterolemic effect, and another showed a significant reduction in LDL oxidation. " Animal studies show an antiatherogenic effect of DHEA, and a review of the clinical trials and studies on DHEA in males with coronary heart disease reported a favorable or neutral effect. Plasma levels of DHEA are decreased in patients with chronic heart failure in proportion to its severity. ... 

The opposite must be said in the case of alcoholic beverages. Experimental results did not indicate that they might play a role in the potentiation of cancer risk. This notion was somehow supported by the epidemiological studies carried out in France, which lead to the discovery of the so-called French paradox. Contrary to the common belief among this country s population, despite high alcohol intake, the frequency of heart failures and possibly also tumor incidence is lower than that in other states. Currently, it is postulated that antioxidant substances present in colored alcoholic beverages and particularly abundant in red wine (Figure 14.1) offer such protection. 

He J, Ogden LG, Bazzano LA, et al. Dietary sodium intake and incidence of congestive heart failure in overweight US men and women First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Arch Intern Med 2002 162 1619-1624. 

An epidemiological study conducted 1974 in France (Chone, 1977) indicated that of 254,788 cases of death due to heart failure, 269 cases, or 0.11%, were identified as cardiomyopathies that were somewhat similar in histology to the observed cardiomyopathies in rats. Of the 269 cases, there was a significant association with alcohol consumption but not with dietary fat and vegetable oil. This study is of particular interest, since France, like India, is a major consumer of rapeseed oil which until 1974 was of the high erucic acid variety. 

For reviews of the epidemiology of heart failure in Europe and Asia, respectively, see Maggioni (2015) and Sato (2015). 

Epidemiological studies have suggested that an increase of 3 mmHg in blood pressure is associated with a 10-20% increase in congestive heart failure (ALLHAT Collaborative Research Group 2000). Conversely, a 3 mmHg reduction in blood pressure in hypertensive individuals decreases risk of myocardial infarction by 22 % and of stroke by 33 % (Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study Investigators... 

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