title: Temporal variation of heart failure hospitalization: does it exist?
abstract: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the end stage of many cardiac diseases, and one of         the leading causes of mortality and morbidity around the world. Coronary heart         disease and hypertension (either singly or together) are the main etiology for CHF. It         has been reported that major acute cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction,         sudden death, cardiac arrest, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, pulmonary embolism,         rupture/dissection of aortic aneurysms) do not occur randomly through time, but         exhibit a specific temporal periodicity characterized by seasonal (winter), weekly         (Monday), and circadian (morning) patterns of onset. Thus, because the major causes         of CHF present a temporal pattern, in the past several years some studies have         investigated the temporal variation of CHF hospitalization and mortality, with         results indicating the possibility of a preference for winter months, Mondays, and         nighttime, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boari
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mari
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gallerani
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fabbian
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pala
authors.forename: Ruana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tiseo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manfredini
mesh_terms: D002909:Chronobiology Phenomena; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012621:Seasons