Chronic Heart Failure Epidemiology in Kazakhstan and Other Countries

The article discusses the etiologic factors contributing to chronic heart failure (CHF) development, as well as CHF main causes. Statistics on CHF prevalence and mortality in Kazakhstan over the past decades is presented in brief. Clinical guidelines of the Kazakhstan Cardiology Society describe many risk factors for CHF in detail, including both underlying and concomitant diseases. According to statistics, 4.7 % of Kazakhstan population (approximately 320,000 people) suffer from CHF. The most common causes or concomitant diseases contributing to CHF development are arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, postinfarction cardiosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, obesity, malignant neoplasms, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic anemia. The highest incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is observed in Almaty – 4 %. Mortality from circulatory system diseases in the Republic of Kazakhstan decreased from 207.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2012 to 178.92 cases in 2016. Differences in approaches to CHF coding in the structure of clinical and pathological diagnosis significantly affect data accuracy on CHF prevalence and mortality. These differences are due to the fact that CHF is not an independent disease; it is rather a complication. When we speak about CHF as a disease, we usually consider it as a deuteropathy. Thus, CHF often does not have a code in the structure of the lifetime diagnosis and it is not considered as the primary cause of death in the case of fatality. As a result, we understand the significant impact of CHF on mortality, but do not have an accurate idea of the real scale of the problem.