The text introduces the epidemiological burden of congestive heart failure in the United States as a preamble to discussing implantable left ventricular assist devices.
Congestive heart failure affects about 1 percent of adults in the United States1 and is a contributing factor in over 250,000 deaths annually.2 It is diagnosed in 400,000 Americans each year3 and is the primary diagnosis for over 900,000 hospitalizations per year.4 In 1990 the age-adjusted death rate from congestive heart failure was 106.4 per 100,000,5 more than that from breast cancer and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome combined.6,7 The median survival after diagnosis is 1.7 years in men and 3.2 years in women, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 50 percent.8 Even though medical therapies have improved . . .
Goldstein et al. (1998) studied this question.