Is Congestive Heart Failure an Epidemic?
Almost 5 million Americans have congestive heart failure (CHF). It is a common end stage of various cardiovascular diseases: valve disorder, chronic hypertension, myocardial infarction, viral cardiomyopathies, and coronary artery disease, just to name a few. Consider the following points: cardiovascular diseases are the #1 killer in the United States, and the population is getting older as well as living longer with cardiovascular disease. Most of the audience reading this essay right now will be impacted by CHF parents, grandparents, friends, and so on. The statistics of congestive heart failure are alarming. CHF is present in 2% of persons aged 40 to 59, 5% of persons aged 60 to 69, and 10% of persons over the age of 70. The incidence, or newly diagnosed cases, of CHF in men and women is equal over the age of 65, about 10 in 1000. However, there is a racial difference: 25% more African Americans have the disease than do Caucasians. Congestive heart failure is caused by weakened heart
