Global, Regional, and National Burden of Heart Failure, 1990-2023

JAMA CardiolPublished 30 Sep 2026

Authors' conclusion

Heart failure is a significant global public health burden, and the impact is likely to increase as populations age.

Study context

Population: Global population with prevalent heart failure (HF), 204 countries and territories, 1990–2023204 countries and territories

Outcome: Prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) for HF by age, sex, location, year and underlying etiology

As reported in the abstract

Prevalent HF cases globally · 2023

Estimated cases of HF globally in 2023

56.0 million (95% UI 49.9-62.2 million)

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Estimated prevalence of HF generally increased with age for all locations
Ischemic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease the 2 most common etiologies globally among older adults; substantial variation by location and age

More notes

Congenital heart anomalies and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) common etiologies in children and young adults; proportion of HF due to alcohol use peaked in middle adulthood
Higher burden of HF due to RHD in south, east and southeast Asia, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa; due to alcohol use in eastern Europe, Australasia, the Caribbean and central Europe; due to Chagas disease in Latin America

Global, Regional, and National Burden of Heart Failure, 1990-2023. JAMA Cardiol. Published 30 September 2026. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2026.4068

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it