Temporal trends in hospitalisations for heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is the most common cause for admission in patients over 65 and hospitalisations account for almost 1% of the health care budget in Ireland. A need to understand the epidemiological data in relation to hospitalisations for HF plays an important part in the planning and distribution of heart care services. The aim of this study was to analyse the temporal trends in hospitalisations for HF and look at potential areas for improvement. Cross sectional data was obtained from the Eurostat database. Data was extracted with the ICD 10 code for heart failure (I-50). The years 2002-2010 were analysed between the ages of 0-105. Between 2002 and 2010 there were 51369 admissions for HF in Irish hospitals. Of these, 54.7% were males and 87% were older than 65 years. The age standardised hospitalisation rates decreased from 157.5 per 100,000 to 127.2 per 100,000, a relative decrease of 19.2% (p=0.02). There was an increase in HF hospitalizations for those aged >85 from 17.9% to 26.7% (p=0.001). There was no significant change in length of stay (12.0 days in 2002 and 12.4 days in 2010). This study of epidemiological surveillance data on Irish HF hospitalisations has shown a 19% reduction in hospitalisations between 2002 and 2010. Although this study shows an overall successful reduction in HF admission rates, the challenges remain in ensuring we manage the burden of those >65 years, in particular those >85 years.