Older Men with Heart Failure Survive Longer

摘要：Heart failure among the elderly has increased, but men 65 and older are surviving longer than women with the disease, according to a study published on Monday.刊登在最新一期的《美国心脏协会杂志》上的研究报告称，在出现心力衰竭症状的老年人中，男性的存活时间要长于女性。

Heart failure among the elderly has increased, but men 65 and older are surviving longer than women with the disease, according to a study published on Monday.

In the retrospective study, researchers examined medical records comparing heart failure in two periods, 1970-74 and 1990-94, of both men and women age 65 and older. The study found heart failure rose by 14 percent from the 1970-74 time period.

"Those 65 years and older are the high-risk age group for heart failure," said William Barker, lead author of the study published in the American Heart Association Journal.

"That population accounts for more than 80 percent of heart failure deaths and prevalence." While heart failure increased, the five-year adjusted death rates fell by a "significant 33 percent among men and showed a borderline decrease of 24 percent among women," Barker said.

He suggested the larger increase in the survival rate among men may stem from the fact that women appear to have more co-existing diseases such as diabetes, cancer and pulmonary disease. In addition, more women in the age group are in nursing homes, which is an indication of frailty.

Heart failure results when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body. Symptoms include shortness of breath and fatigue.

A separate study published on Monday in the journal showed more than half of men and nearly 40 percent of women in the United States during their lifetimes would develop cardiovascular disease, the nation's No. 1 killer.

At age 50, the average lifetime risk of developing cardiovascular disease before age 95 is 51.7 percent for men and 39.2 percent for women. The most striking finding was the high risk linked with having several major risk factors at age 50. Among them, diabetes was seen as the highest risk for bringing on the disease.

"Clearly, prevention efforts need to begin decades before age 50, since even the presence of a single major risk factor at age 50 substantially raises the lifetime risk of CVD and markedly shorter survival," said lead author Donald Lloyd-Jones.

刊登在最新一期的《美国心脏协会杂志》上的研究报告称，在出现心力衰竭症状的老年人中，男性的存活时间要长于女性。

据路透社2月7日报道，科研人员通过对1970年至1974年和1990年至1994年两个时间段内心力衰竭的发病状况进行比较。从研究结果来看，后一时间段内心力衰竭的发病率较之前一时间段上升了14％。该研究报告的首席作者美国人威廉·巴克尔表示：“65岁以上的人群是很容易出现心力衰竭症状的高危人群，占该病患者及死亡者人数比例的80％以上。”

巴克尔指出，尽管心力衰竭患者的数量在不断增加，但男性死亡率在5年内大幅度下降了33％，而女性为24％。”据巴克尔推断，男性患者的存活率之所以明显高于女性可能是女性患者往往会出现更多的并发症，如糖尿病、各种癌症以及肺部疾病等。此外，这一年龄段中住进养老院的女性人数要多于男性，由此可见该群体中女性的身体较之男性要更为虚弱一些。