Burden of cardiovascular hospitalizations and in-hospital mortality in Greece: national trends over five years

OBJECTIVE: Nationwide epidemiological studies provide crucial insights into the burden of prevalent and emerging diseases, guiding the development of targeted health policies. This study analyzes trends in cardiovascular disease (CVD) hospitalizations and in-hospital mortality in Greece. METHODS: Anonymized data were retrieved from the Hellenic Statistical Authority to calculate hospitalization rates (HRs) per 100,000 population and in-hospital mortality for cardiovascular (CV) sub-causes from 2013 to 2017. The statistical significance of temporal trends was assessed using generalized linear models in Python. RESULTS: From 2013 to 2017, HRs increased by 9.2% for myocardial infarctions (MIs), 34.5% for heart failure (HF), 12.3% for stroke, 62.7% for cardiac arrest, and 36.6% for pulmonary embolism. In 2017, CVDs were the leading cause of hospitalization (14%) with a HR of 1942.4 per 100,000 population, with HF being the leading CV sub-cause of hospitalization (12%). HF together with stroke, atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/Af), and coronary artery disease represented over 60% of all CV hospitalizations. While coronary artery disease was more prevalent in the male population, HF, strokes, and AF/Af were the primary CV sub-causes in the female population. HRs were higher in the male population for most CV sub-causes. Higher in-hospital mortality was found in the female population across all major CV sub-causes. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated significant shifts in the burden of CV sub-causes in Greece, with increasing HRs for MIs and HF. These findings highlight the need for optimization of guideline implementation, and development of specialized CV units and cardiogeriatric centers to address the challenges posed by the aging population.