Healthier Together: Deaths from heart failure on the rise

SEATTLE — A sobering truth for doctors tracking heart failure, a study published in JAMA Cardiology, shows deaths from the condition are surging after a decade of declines.

KIRO 7′s Ranji Sinha spoke to a doctor with UW Medicine’s Heart Institute to find out why and what, if anything, can be done to stop the rise of heart failures.

Dr. April Stempien-Otero, Craig Tall Family Endowed Professor in Heart Failure Research and a UW associate professor of medicine, admits she’s not pleased her predictions on heart failure have been accurate.

“I was shocked by the results and saddened by the results that they were that bad!” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

Over the years in the United States, many people have gotten heart healthy and heart smart, resulting in a 10-year run with fewer deaths from the condition known as heart failure. But numbers started to rise in 2012, and in 2021 heart-failure deaths surpassed the number of deaths in 1999.

Dr. Stempien-Otero says the predictions of a rebound in heart failure deaths may be correct, but tracing them to a cause has been difficult.

“We’re not sure why it’s been happening there’s a lot of different hypotheses why. We do know we’ve made a lot of progress in some heart diseases and it’s great that people have picked up on that,” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

Americans have been bombarded with heart health messages since the 1980′s, with many changing their exercise habits and diet. Despite that, Dr. Stempien-Otero says the surge in US heart failures is happening across all demographics and age groups.

“It’s a national crisis I would say crisis to some extent,” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

We joined Dr. Stempien-Otero at UW Medicine’s Montlake Campus as she explained heart failure and treatments that can help with the condition. Heart failure happens when the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. Older people have always been at risk, as hearts weaken over time, but Dr. Stempien-Otero says young people are now suffering from heart failure and could die sooner from it.

“We do have great heart failure treatments now that we’ve developed over the past 20-25 years,” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

COVID-19 accelerated heart failure since it injured vessels in the heart. Dr. Stempien-Otero believes that the trend of rising heart failure could continue for years.

She says the trend could reverse, but people with heart failure risks are not seeking treatment.

“Really, only 20% of the population are on optimal therapy for heart failure,” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

Dr. Stempien-Otero showed us images of heart failure and said treatments can prevent death from a failing heart, but also improve heart function. She says anyone under 65 with heart failure symptoms should see a doctor.

Symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath
• Swelling in your legs
• Fatigue

Dr. Stempien-Otero says treatment can reverse years of conditions that lead to heart failure in only a matter of months

“A few months makes a huge difference in many patients, that’s one of the most rewarding parts of my job, is to put somebody on medication, and then three months later, feel so much better,” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

Dr. Stempien-Otero says treated patients admit they breathe easier and can expand their activities, subsequently saving and changing a patient’s life. Nothing will ever replace lost heart cells (a reality she is trying to reverse through research), but she says treatments could take care of nearly everyone at risk.

“My research has been to try to put myself out of business, looking at ways to reverse scar tissue formation, if I didn’t have to send people to transplant, I’d be very happy,” Dr. Stempien-Otero said.

©2024 Cox Media Group