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Heart Failure in China: A Review of the Literature

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Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is a serious disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. In China, as in other countries, it is a common cause for hospital admission; however, as yet there are few data documenting the epidemiology and management of HF in China, or quality of life-related considerations in this population. This review aims to identify relevant Chinese and English language publications that discuss the causes, risks, treatment, and health outcomes (costs, health-related quality of life) of HF in China (excluding Taiwan and Hong Kong). The prevalence of HF in China appears to be lower than that reported in many Western countries, including the US. Hypertension and coronary heart disease are the leading causes of HF in China, as they are in many Western nations, potentially highlighting the improvement in socioeconomic conditions in China. Evidence suggests that use of newer pharmacological agents for the treatment of HF is increasing; however, it is still believed that there is a lack of physician knowledge regarding newer, more effective treatment options, with rural (poor) areas appearing to be the most reliant on older, less expensive, medications. Interest in Chinese quality of life measures for HF has risen recently, with the development of valid and reliable rating scales in the Chinese population. Although the amount of available literature on HF in China is improving, there remain significant gaps in our understanding of the issue, and further research is needed to provide a reliable Chinese evidence base for the improvement of clinical practice.

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Acknowledgements

Medical writing assistance was provided by Claire Pouwels and Tracy Harrison of inScience Communications, Springer Healthcare, and translation of selected parts of Chinese language publications was provided by Zoe Poon at the time she was an employee of inScience Communications, and Yvonne Lau, who received payment from inScience Communications for her services. Rinat Ariely was an employee of Novartis and Tim Mills was an employee of inScience Communications at the time of writing. Keith Evans and Tim Mills of InScience Communications were paid by Novartis for conducting the literature searches. None of the authors received payment for writing this manuscript.

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  1. GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA, USA

    Rinat Ariely

  2. InScience Communications, Chester, UK

    Keith Evans

  3. Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA

    Tim Mills

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  1. Rinat Ariely
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Correspondence to Keith Evans.

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Ariely, R., Evans, K. & Mills, T. Heart Failure in China: A Review of the Literature. Drugs 73, 689–701 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-013-0057-8

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