HEART FAILURE, A GLOBAL DISEASE REQUIRING A

GLOBAL RESPONSE

During the last decennia, heart failure has developed into a major burden in the Western world, increasingly affecting millions, who suffer a poor quality of life, characterised by debilitating symptoms, frequent hospitalisations and a poor outlook on life.

However, heart failure should not be considered a specific problem of industrialised, developed countries. Rather it is, or will shortly become, a global disease requiring a global response. In nearly all regions of the world heart failure is both common and on the rise.

Cardiovascular disease is rapidly expanding in developing countries and has become the leading cause of death in many. This is not readily explained by their large populations alone. Rather, life style changes and a fast increase in cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia during the last two decades have led to an explosion of athero-thrombotic cardiovascular disease.

Consequently, the progressive rise in myocardial infarctions and hypertension, major determinants of heart failure in Western countries, will very likely lead to epidemics of heart failure in developing parts of the world of similar proportions as in industrialised, developed countries