Sex Differences in the Etiology and Burden of Heart Failure across Country Income Level: Analysis of 204 Countries and Territories 1990-2019

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a global epidemic.

OBJECTIVE: To assess global sex differences in HF epidemiology across country income levels.

METHODS: Using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data from 204 countries and territories 1990-2019, we assessed sex differences in HF prevalence, etiology, morbidity, and temporal trends across country sociodemographic index or gross national income. We derived age-standardized rates.

RESULTS: Of 56.2 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 46.4-67.8 million) people with HF in 2019, 50.3% were females and 69.2% lived in low- and middle-income countries; age-standardized prevalence was greater in males and in high-income countries. Ischemic and hypertensive heart disease were top causes of HF in males and females, respectively. There were 5.1 million (95% UI 3.3-7.3 million) years lived with disability, distributed equally between sexes. Between 1990-2019, there was an increase in HF cases, but a decrease in age-standardized rates/100,000 in males (9.1%, from 864.2 to 785.7) and females (5.8%, from 686.0 to 646.1). High-income regions experienced a 16.0% decrease in age-standardized rates (from 877.5 to 736.8), while low-income regions experienced a 3.9% increase (from 612.1 to 636.0), largely consistent across sexes. There was a temporal increase in age-standardized HF from hypertensive, rheumatic and calcific aortic valvular heart disease, and a decrease from ischemic heart disease, with regional and sex differences.

CONCLUSIONS: Age-standardized HF rates have decreased over time, with larger decreases in males than females; and with large decreases in high-income and small increases in low-income regions. Sex and regional differences offer targets for intervention.