Survival rates for heart failure patients can be as low as those in patients who develop common cancers, according to a study published in the European Journal of Heart Failure.
Scottish researchers examined data for 1.75 million people registered with 393 general practices. They studied a total of 56,658 subjects.
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The researchers found that in men, heart failure had worse mortality outcomes than prostate cancer and bladder cancer. The five-year survival rate among men is:
• 55.8 percent for heart failure
• 57.3 percent for bladder cancer
• 68.3 percent for prostrate cancer
However, heart failure survival rates were higher for lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
Among women, heart failure had worse mortality outcomes than breast cancer. The five-year survival rate for heart failure and breast cancer were 49.5 percent and 77.7 percent respectively. However, heart failure survival rates were higher compared to survival rates for colorectal cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
"Despite advances in management, [heart failure] remains as 'malignant' as some of the common cancers in both men and women," study authors conclude.