title: Heart failure across Asia: Same healthcare burden but differences in organization of care.
abstract: A gap in the knowledge on the status of heart failure (HF) in Asia versus other regions led to the creation of a working group of Asian experts from 9 countries or regions (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam). Each expert sought the best available data from local publications, registries, or clinical practice. The prevalence of HF in Asia was generally similar to global values (1% to 3%), but with some outliers. There were substantial variations in healthcare spending, and the average cost of HF hospitalization varied from 813 US$ in Indonesia to nearly 9000 US$ in South Korea. Comorbidities were frequent, particularly hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Modifiable risk factors such as smoking were alarmingly common in some countries. Asian HF patients spent between 5 and 12.5days in hospital, and 3% to 15% were readmitted for HF by 30days. The pharmacological treatment of Asian patients generally followed international guidelines, including renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (61% to 90%), diuretics (76% to 99%), beta-blockers (32% to 78%), and digoxin (19% to 53%), with some room for improvement in terms of life-saving therapies. Our review supports implementation of a more comprehensive and organized approach to HF care in Asia.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of the Philippines, Philippine General Hospital, Manila, Philippines.
authors.forename: Eugenio B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia/National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Isman
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Firdaus
authors.affiliation: National Heart Institute, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Azmee Mohd
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ghazi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Arintaya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Phrommintikul
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, National Heart Center, Singapore.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ha Noi Heart Hospital, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Quynh Nga
authors.initials: QN
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Chung Wah
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Division, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Hsian
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London (Royal Brompton Hospital), London, UK. Electronic address: m.cowie@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Martin R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Cowie
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Asia; Etiology; Heart failure; Hospitalization; Mortality; Treatment