Differences in the Incidence of Congestive Heart Failure by Ethnicity

Abstract

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States,^1-7 and its prevalence continues to rise,⁶ despite the decline in overall cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.⁵ Previous work reporting racial/ethnic disparities in the prevalence of CHF has raised concerns that the incidence of CHF might vary among different racial/ethnic groups. These studies suggest that the relative importance of different genetic and environmental risk factors for CHF as well as the mechanisms or pathways of circulatory impairment leading to symptomatic CHF vary among different racial/ethnic groups.^8,9 Given the high incidence of heart failure over the human lifetime^10,11 and its increasing prevalence and social burden in this country,^1-7 the importance of ascertaining race- or ethnicity-related differences in incident CHF cannot be overestimated.