Heart failure affects 56 million people worldwide in 2023

Heart failure affected an estimated 56 million people worldwide in 2023, more than twice the 1990 level, according to a Global Burden of Disease analysis published Sept. 30 in JAMA Cardiology.

Evidence grade: Moderate (consistent observational data or small trials). A separate 2026 Heart Failure Society of America report said heart failure contributed to 452,573 U.S. deaths in 2023, or about 14.6% of all deaths that year.

Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. The term does not mean the heart has stopped beating.

The age pattern is the concern for younger adults. Between 2010 and 2022, heart failure hospitalization rates rose among adults under 65 while falling among adults 65 and older, according to the Healthline summary of the reports.

Estimated heart failure mortality rates more than doubled among adults ages 25 to 44 between 2001 and 2020, and nearly doubled among adults ages 45 to 64.

“I think we’re seeing the impact of cardiovascular risk factors developing earlier in life. Conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea are affecting younger adults at higher rates than in previous generations,” Kevin Shah, Program Director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center, told Healthline. Shah was not involved in the analysis.

Amit Blumfield, a cardiologist at Manhattan Cardiology who was also not involved in the analysis, told Healthline that improved detection may also contribute. “Our tools to detect early heart failure are also improving with time, and as a result, patients may receive an earlier diagnosis and can hopefully start medical therapy to prevent progression or possibly even reverse the process entirely.”

The HFSA report estimated that about 7.7 million U.S. adults, or 3%, are living with heart failure. It projected that number would rise to 8.7 million by 2030, 10.3 million by 2040 and 11.4 million by 2050.

Age-adjusted U.S. heart failure mortality rates increased by about 37% between 2010 and 2023, according to the HFSA report. Preliminary 2024 data cited in the source suggested the upward trend was continuing.

The Global Burden of Disease researchers linked the expanding worldwide burden partly to population growth and aging. They also pointed to prevention and treatment strategies aimed at conditions associated with heart failure, including ischemic heart disease and hypertension, or high blood pressure.

The most common linked conditions differed by age and region. Ischemic heart disease and hypertension were among the main conditions associated with heart failure in older adults, while congenital heart abnormalities and rheumatic heart disease were common linked conditions among children and young adults, according to the GBD report.

The study cannot show from the details supplied how much of the rise among younger adults is associated with earlier development of risk factors, improved diagnosis, changes in treatment, or other factors. The source did not provide study funding, confidence intervals, or detailed methods for the GBD analysis or HFSA report.

For readers, the evidence supports attention to established cardiovascular risk factors rather than a new screening rule or treatment recommendation. The source identified high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, high cholesterol and sleep apnea as relevant risks or linked conditions.

Source: Healthline News article summarizing a JAMA Cardiology Global Burden of Disease analysis and Heart Failure Society of America 2026 report, Oct. 12, 2026.

Atlas360 reports health research and does not provide medical advice.