Sex-Specific Trends in Incidence and Mortality for Urban and Rural Ambulatory Heart Failure Patients in Eastern Ontario from 1994-2013

Heart failure (HF) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality with an estimated lifetime risk of 1 in 5.1,2 Despite the current era of goal directed medical therapy, HF continues to be a leading cause of admission to hospital, it is associated with a poor prognosis and contributes to 35% of total female cardiovascular mortality.3 Urban-rural differences in morbidity, mortality, access to care, medication utilization and cost of care have been reported in many cohorts of cardiovascular disease, including stroke,4 acute myocardial infarction,5 stable ischemic heart disease6 and acute heart failure;7,8 only one of these reports addressed the sex differences in outcomes by geographic place of residence.
Source: Journal of Cardiac Failure - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research