Heart Health
How to avoid heart failure
Heart failure deaths are on the rise. Here's how to protect yourself.
- Reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
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
Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
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