How Common Is Heart Failure?

Dr. Peter Alagona answers the question: 'How Common Is Heart Failure?'

ByABC News
November 24, 2008, 11:42 AM

— -- Question: How common is heart failure?

Answer: Heart failure is extraordinarily common, as a matter of fact, it's the largest reason -- or as the physicians like to say, DRG -- Medicare assigns DRGs -- diagnosis related groups to different causes for hospitalization. In the United States, the DRGs for heart failure account for the largest number of hospital admissions, so it's very, very common.