title: Heart Failure Hospitalisations in the Hunter New England Area Over 10 years. A Changing Trend.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heart failure carries a major burden on our health system, mainly related to the high rate of hospital admission. An understanding of the recent trends in heart failure hospitalisation is essential to the future allocation of health resources. Our aim is to analyse the temporal trends in heart failure hospitalisation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We extracted all separations in the Hunter New England Local Health District between 2005-2014 (n=40,119) with an ICD 10 code for heart failure (I-50) in the first four diagnoses on discharge. The numbers of hospitalisations were age-standardised to the 2001 Australian population and compared based on gender and remoteness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a decline in the age-standardised hospitalisation. However, there was a clear inflection point between 2009-2010, after which the decline levelled off. The absolute number of hospitalisations increased between 2010 and 2014. Heart failure hospitalisation was higher in males compared to females and rural compared to metropolitan inhabitants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The gains in heart failure treatment noted in recent years seem to have come to an end. Patients aged 75 years and older are contributing the majority of age-standardised hospitalisations.
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammed S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Al-Omary
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Allan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Arshad A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGee
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bastian
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leitch
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Attia
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: andrew.boyle@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Boyle
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Heart Failure; Hospitalisation; Remoteness