AI Insight
Researchers developed a method to classify heart failure stages using administrative healthcare data and applied it to the entire Czech population from 2015 to 2024. They found that 27.8% of Czechs met criteria for preclinical Stage A heart failure and 8.2% for Stage B in 2024, with both stages increasing beyond what population aging alone would explain. One-year mortality showed a stepwise increase across stages, from 0.69% in Stage A to 7.27% in Stage D, and over 95% of people who developed clinical heart failure had previously met criteria for preclinical stages.
Why it matters
This administrative surveillance approach enables scalable population-level monitoring of heart failure risk before symptoms appear, potentially allowing healthcare systems to identify and intervene earlier in at-risk populations. The finding that preclinical heart failure is increasing independently of aging suggests a need for expanded preventive strategies.
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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed
Dieser Artikel wurde noch nicht von unabhängigen Experten begutachtet. Die Ergebnisse sind vorläufig und sollten mit Vorsicht interpretiert werden.
Population-level data on preclinical heart failure (HF) remain limited because most epidemiological studies focus on symptomatic HF. We therefore developed an administrative-data algorithm to classify HF stages across the national population and describe temporal trends, stage transitions, and mortality across the HF continuum. Methods Using a claims-based staging framework adapted from the Universal Definition of HF, we classified HF stages from ICD-10 codes, prescription records, and medical procedures. We applied this algorithm to the Czech population, linking the National Registry of Reimbursed Health Services to National mortality records from 2015 to 2024. Results In 2024, 27.8% of the Czech population met criteria for Stage A HF and 8.2% for Stage B. Over 10 years, the prevalence of both preclinical stages increased beyond what could be explained by population aging alone, with age-standardized prevalence rising by 9.5% for Stage A and 19.2% for Stage B. Age-standardized 1-year mortality showed a steep stepwise gradient, from 0.69% in Stage A to 1.69% in Stage B, 3.06% in Stage C, and 7.27% in Stage D. Among 52,172 individuals with incident clinical HF in 2024, more than 95% had previously met administrative criteria for Stage A or Stage B. Conclusion Administrative surveillance of the HF continuum using routinely collected healthcare data provides a scalable administrative framework for population-level monitoring of HF burden. In Czechia, both preclinical and clinical HF burdens increased over time beyond population aging alone, underscoring the need for earlier preventive strategies targeting preclinical disease.
Source: Administrative Data-Based Staging of the Heart Failure Continuum in a Nationwide Population