Changes in mortality from heart failure--United States, 1980-1995.

Heart failure is a disabling chronic disease and the leading principal diagnosis for hospitalization among older adults. Among the estimated 4.8 million U.S. residents who have heart failure, 70% are aged > or =60 years. During the past decade, the number of hospitalizations for heart failure have increased among Medicare beneficiaries , and these numbers are expected to increase with progressive aging of the U.S. population even though the case-fatality rate for heart failure is high. This report summarizes trends in mortality from heart failure in the United States for 1980-1995 and presents state-specific death rates for 1995 (the most recent year for which such data are available).