Average heart failure age 68 in Türkiye: Expert

Buse Özel - ISTANBUL

The average age of heart failure, which is 74 in developed countries, is 68 in Türkiye, an expert has said.

Within the scope of “Heart Failure Awareness Week,” an event was organized in Istanbul, which was also attended by basketball player Serdar Çağlan and actor Sarp Apak.

Speaking at the event, Turkish Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Chairman Prof. Dr. Ahmet Çelik pointed out that the age of developing heart failure in the country is younger than in other countries.

Çelik said that, unlike Western countries, the incidence of heart failure in women is slightly higher than in men in Türkiye, and the average age of diagnosis is 68 years in the country and 74 years in more developed countries.

According to Çelik’s speech, the reason why it is more common in women is that women have a longer life expectancy and have more comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension.

“One of the most important reasons is having a heart attack, in which a significant number of people develop heart failure afterward. Failure to control diseases such as hypertension and diabetes also increases the possibility,” he said.

Çelik noted that patients with heart failure may be associated with many other diseases, pointing out that the most common comorbidities are hypertension, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), anemia, atrial fibrillation, iron deficiency, depression, hypothyroidism and chronic renal failure.

“The fight against heart failure should start by treating people who do not have heart failure but have diseases that cause heart failure,” Çelik added.