• Centers and Departments
• Back to Cardiovascular Medicine
• Diseases and Conditions
• Angina
• Arrhythmias
• Cancer-Related Heart Disease
• Coronary Artery Disease
• Diabetic Heart Disease
• Familial Heart Diseases
• Heart Attack
• Heart Failure
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Risk Factors
  • Causes
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment
  • Physicians and Services
• Pericardial Disease or Pericarditis
• Peripheral Artery Disease
• Stroke
• Valve Disease
• Women's Cardiovascular Disease

Risk Factors

Afflicts an Estimated 5 Million Americans

Heart failure is one of the most common reasons why people over the age of 65 go to the hospital. It afflicts an estimated 5 million Americans. Risk factors include:

• Advancing age
  
• High blood pressure
  
• Coronary artery disease
  
• Heart attack
  
• Arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms)
  
• Diabetes
  
• Sleep apnea
  
• Congenital heart defects
  
• Excessive alcohol use or illicit drug use
  
• Obesity
  
• Chronic lung disease
  
• Certain types of chemotherapy
  
• Heart valve disease
  
• Thyroid disease
  
• Kidney disease
  
• Certain viruses