A recent investigation indicates a decline in heart failure-related deaths in Sweden over the past two decades.
A fresh study conducted by Karolinska Institutet reveals that heart failure mortality rates in Sweden have significantly decreased over the last 20 years. The findings were published in the European Journal of Heart Failure.
A nationwide assessment has demonstrated that heart failure-related deaths have diminished in Sweden during the past 20 years. Despite this progress, the outlook for patients with heart failure is still concerning; approximately 25% of those diagnosed in 2022 succumbed within a year.
“Our findings indicate that advancements in the treatment of heart failure over recent decades have led to a decline in mortality rates, both at the population level and for individual patients. This offers a positive perspective on the continued adoption of existing treatments, which remain underutilized, alongside the pursuit of new therapeutic options,” explains Gianluigi Savarese, the study’s senior author and Associate Professor of Cardiology at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet.
The research highlighted that the most significant improvements were observed in patients experiencing heart failure with reduced left ventricular function, a group for whom multiple life-extending treatments have emerged in recent years. Conversely, patients with heart failure and preserved left ventricular function, where effective treatment options are limited, showed slower improvement.
“These findings underscore the urgent need for research into new therapies aimed at patients with heart failure and preserved left ventricular function, who represent nearly half of the heart failure demographic,” remarked Felix Lindberg, the first author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet. He further added:
“Moreover, this study also instills hope that the recent progress in heart failure treatments may continue to enhance both the quality of life and survival rates for heart failure patients in Sweden.”
The upcoming phases of the research will involve utilizing the Swedish Heart Failure Registry to proactively identify patients needing intensified treatment.
This study was supported by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, and the researchers have reported no conflicts of interest.
