title: Trends in pulmonary hypertension mortality and morbidity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Few reports have been published regarding surveillance data for pulmonary hypertension, a debilitating and often fatal condition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We report trends in pulmonary hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  United States of America; vital statistics, hospital data.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) for 1999-2008 and hospital discharge data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) for 1999-2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  We present age-standardized rates. Results. Since 1999, the numbers of deaths and hospitalizations as well as death rates and hospitalization rates for pulmonary hypertension have increased. In 1999 death rates were higher for men than for women; however, by 2002, no differences by gender remained because of the increasing death rates among women and the declining death rates among men; after 2003 death rates for women were higher than for men. Death rates throughout the reporting period 1999-2008 were higher for blacks than for whites. Hospitalization rates in women were 1.3-1.6 times higher than in men.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pulmonary hypertension mortality and hospitalization numbers and rates increased from 1999 to 2008.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Howard University, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USA.
authors.forename: Alem
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8328-5448
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehari
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Howard University, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USA.
authors.forename: Orlando
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Valle
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Howard University, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20060, USA.
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Gillum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014798:Vital Statistics; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data