Heart Failure Is Rising and Getting Younger (HF Stats 2026)
Heart Failure Is Rising and Getting Younger: What the HF Stats 2026 Report Means for You
Heart failure doesn't usually make headlines the way heart attacks do. It develops more quietly: a little more breathlessness on the stairs, ankles that swell by evening, a few extra kilos that turn out to be fluid. A new report suggests it deserves far more attention.
Here is the short answer. The Heart Failure Society of America's HF Stats 2026 report finds that heart failure contributed to more than 450,000 US deaths in 2023, age-adjusted heart failure mortality rose about 37% between 2010 and 2023, and the steepest increases are in adults under 65. Nearly one in four Americans will develop heart failure, which makes early recognition and prevention more important than ever.
简短的答案： 心衰通常不像心梗那样登上头条，它发展得更安静：爬楼梯时多一点气短，傍晚脚踝肿起来，多出的几公斤原来是积液。一份新报告显示，它值得得到多得多的关注。美国心衰学会 HF Stats 2026 报告显示：2023 年心衰导致美国超过 45 万人死亡，2010–2023 年年龄校正心衰死亡率上升约 37%，上升最快的是 65 岁以下成人；近四分之一的美国人一生中会发生心衰，早期识别和预防因此更加重要。
What the HF Stats 2026 report found
Published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure in October 2026, the report pulls together the latest US data across 12 key findings. Among the most striking:
Heart failure contributed to 452,573 deaths in 2023, 14.6% of all US deaths.
Age-adjusted heart failure mortality rose about 37% between 2010 and 2023, reversing more than a decade of earlier progress.
Younger adults are increasingly affected. Between 2001 and 2020, crude heart failure mortality rose 121% among adults aged 25–44 and 96% among those aged 45–64, and hospitalisation rates rose in adults under 65 while falling in older adults.
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans will develop heart failure, and about one-third of adults without symptoms already meet criteria for Stage A, meaning they have risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.
Proven treatments are underused: only about 18% of people with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction receive all four recommended medication classes.
The report attributes much of the rise to an ageing population and growing rates of obesity, hypertension and other cardiometabolic risk factors.
HF Stats 2026 报告的发现： 报告于 2026 年 10 月发表在《心衰杂志》上，以 12 项关键发现汇总了美国最新数据，其中最引人注目的是：
2023 年心衰导致 452,573 人死亡，占美国全部死亡的 14.6%；
2010–2023 年年龄校正心衰死亡率上升约 37%，扭转了此前十多年的进步；
年轻成人受影响增加——2001–2020 年 25–44 岁人群心衰粗死亡率上升 121%，45–64 岁上升 96%，65 岁以下住院率上升而老年人下降；
近四分之一的美国人一生中会发生心衰，约三分之一无症状成人已符合 A 期标准（即有高血压、糖尿病或肥胖等风险因素）；
已证实有效的治疗使用不足——射血分数降低的心衰患者中只有约 18% 同时使用全部四类推荐药物。
报告把上升主要归因于人口老龄化，以及肥胖、高血压等心脏代谢风险因素增加。
What it means for you
If you've had a heart attack or stent: a damaged heart muscle is one of the main routes into heart failure. Keeping blood pressure and LDL on target, taking your medications and staying active all protect the pumping muscle. Ask whether your heart function (ejection fraction) has been checked since your event.
If you live with congenital heart disease: heart failure is the leading cause of death in a large adult congenital heart cohort, so early signs matter (see growing older with congenital heart disease).
If you're focused on prevention: Stage A is where the most can be done. Blood pressure, blood sugar, weight and activity are the levers (see heart disease starts decades before symptoms).
If you already have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: ask your cardiologist whether you're on all the recommended medication classes, or why not.
Everyone: know the early signs. New breathlessness with activity or when lying flat, swelling in the ankles or belly, rapid weight gain of about 2 kg over two to three days, a persistent cough or reduced exercise tolerance. Daily or regular weight checks are one of the simplest early-warning tools (see five numbers to track). Call 911 for severe breathlessness or chest pain.
对你意味着什么： 如果你经历过心梗或放过支架：受损的心肌是通向心衰的主要途径之一，让血压和 LDL 达标、坚持服药、保持活动都在保护泵血的肌肉；可以问问事件后是否复查过心功能（射血分数）。如果你患有先心病：在大型成人先心病队列中，心衰是首要死因，早期信号很重要。如果你关注预防：A 期是能做最多事情的阶段，血压、血糖、体重和活动是杠杆。如果你已有射血分数降低的心衰：问问心脏科医生，你是否在用全部推荐的药物类别，如果没有，原因是什么。所有人都要了解早期信号：活动或平躺时新发气短、脚踝或腹部水肿、2–3 天内体重增加约 2 公斤、持续咳嗽或运动耐量下降；规律称体重是最简单的早期预警工具之一。严重气短或胸痛请拨打 911。
The bottom line
Heart failure is rising and reaching younger adults, but much of the risk sits in factors that can be measured and changed, and the treatments that work are underused. Whatever your starting point, know your numbers, know the early signs and ask the questions that make sure you're getting the care that already exists.
结论： 心衰在上升、并波及更年轻的成人，但大部分风险来自可以测量和改变的因素，而有效的治疗却使用不足。无论你从哪里起步，了解自己的数字、了解早期信号，并提出那些能确保你获得现有有效照护的问题。
Frequently asked questions
Is heart failure increasing? Yes, in the United States. The HF Stats 2026 report found that age-adjusted heart failure mortality rose about 37% between 2010 and 2023, and heart failure contributed to 452,573 deaths in 2023.
Why are younger adults getting heart failure? The report links rising heart failure to growing rates of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and other cardiometabolic risk factors. Crude heart failure mortality rose 121% among adults aged 25–44 between 2001 and 2020.
What are the early signs of heart failure? New breathlessness with activity or when lying flat, ankle or belly swelling, rapid weight gain of about 2 kg over two to three days, a persistent cough and reduced exercise tolerance. Report them early; call 911 for severe breathlessness or chest pain.
What is Stage A heart failure? Stage A means being at risk for heart failure, for example because of high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity, without symptoms or structural heart changes. About one-third of US adults without symptoms meet these criteria.
常见问题：
心衰在增加吗？在美国是的，HF Stats 2026 显示 2010–2023 年年龄校正死亡率上升约 37%，2023 年导致 452,573 人死亡。
为什么年轻人也心衰？报告归因于肥胖、高血压、糖尿病等风险因素增加，25–44 岁人群粗死亡率 2001–2020 年上升 121%。
早期信号有哪些？活动或平躺时气短、脚踝或腹部水肿、2–3 天体重增加约 2 公斤、持续咳嗽、运动耐量下降，严重时拨打 911。
什么是 A 期心衰？有高血压、糖尿病或肥胖等风险但无症状或结构改变，约三分之一无症状美国成人符合。
References
Heart Failure Society of America. HF Stats 2026: an updated report on heart failure epidemiology and outcomes statistics. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2026.
University Hospitals. New report finds heart failure mortality rising as disease increasingly affects younger Americans. News release, 5 October 2026.
Diller GP, et al. Survival prospects and circumstances of death in contemporary adult congenital heart disease patients. Circulation. 2015;132(22):2118–2125.
