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A 2026 report from the Heart Failure Society of America, published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure, highlights the growing risk and negative consequences of heart failure (HF) in the United States. Approximately 7.7 million adults (3%) currently have HF—a number projected to reach 11.4 million by 2050. Lifetime risk is approximately 24%, meaning that an individual in the United States has roughly a 1 in 4 chance of developing HF at some point during their lifetime. However, the more concerning finding is that the condition is increasingly affecting younger patients. HF mortality rates more than doubled among adults aged 25–44 years (121%) and nearly doubled among those aged 45–64 years (96%) between 2001 and 2020. Overall, HF contributed to 452,573 deaths in 2023, representing 14.6% of all deaths. Approximately two-thirds of patients with HF have chronic kidney disease, diabetes, or both, according to the society.
Treatment opportunities: Undertreatment represents a clinical “crisis,” according to the authors. Only 18% of patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction receive all 4 recommended medication classes (beta-blocker; renin-angiotensin system inhibitor; mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; and SGLT2 inhibitor). Among newly diagnosed patients, just 6% achieve optimal guideline-directed medical therapy within 12 months. The authors believe optimal treatment in all eligible patients in North America could save approximately 94,789 lives per year.