Heart Health

How to avoid heart failure

Heart failure deaths are on the rise. Here's how to protect yourself.

By , Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch

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About 10% of Americans will develop heart failure during their lifetimes, an incidence that rises substantially after age 65. But perhaps most concerning is that Americans are now dying from heart failure at a higher rate than 25 years ago, according to a study in the June 2024 issue of JAMA Cardiology.

"We are struggling to understand what has caused this change, which has made taking preventive measures against heart failure more important than ever," says cardiologist Dr. Mandeep R. Mehra, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and executive director of the Center for Advanced Heart Disease at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

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About the Author

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Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch

Matthew Solan is the executive editor of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. He previously served as executive editor for UCLA Health’s Healthy Years and as a contributor to Duke Medicine’s Health News and Weill Cornell Medical College’s … See Full Bio
View all posts by Matthew Solan

About the Reviewer

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Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing

Dr. Howard LeWine is a practicing internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Chief Medical Editor at Harvard Health Publishing, and editor in chief of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. See Full Bio
View all posts by Howard E. LeWine, MD

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