title: The comorbidity conundrum: a focus on the role of noncardiovascular chronic conditions in the heart failure patient.
abstract: The rapid aging of the US population combined with improvements in modern medicine has created a new public health concern of comorbidity, a chronic condition that co-exists with a primary illness. Over 141 million Americans suffer from one or more comorbid conditions. In the heart failure (HF) patient, this comorbidity burden is particularly high, with over 40% of patients having five or more chronic conditions. These comorbidities can vary from being a risk factor to a cause of HF progression or even a precipitating factor for decompensation. Comorbidities, particularly the noncardiovascular conditions, have been associated with greater health resource utilization, poor health outcomes, and increased mortality. To minimize the negative impact that these comorbidities have on patient outcomes, appropriate attention should be paid to identifying, prioritizing, and managing each condition; minimizing medication complexity and polypharmacy; and improving overall coordination of care between providers and patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Robert.page@ucdenver.edu
authors.forename: Robert Lee
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Joann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindenfeld
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology