Demographics and mortality trends of hypertensive heart failure in the United States, 2006-2020: Insights from the CDC WONDER database

J Int Med Res. 2026 Apr;54(4):3000605261417063. doi: 10.1177/03000605261417063. Epub 2026 Apr 9.

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo comprehensively examine hypertension- and heart failure-related mortality rates in the United States to develop a targeted approach to health policy development.MethodsWe analyzed death certificates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database, focusing on mortality caused by hypertensive heart failure in adults aged ≥25 years from 2006 to 2020. Age-adjusted mortality rates per 1,000,000 and annual percent changes were calculated and categorized by year, sex, race, urban status, age group, and census region.ResultsA total of 268,545 deaths occurred due to hypertensive heart failure between 2006 and 2020. The overall age-adjusted mortality rates increased from 60.5 in 2006 to 134.9 in 2020. Males had higher age-adjusted mortality rates than women (76.6 vs. 73.8). Older-aged people exhibited significantly higher age-adjusted mortality rates than young and middle-aged adults. Age-adjusted mortality rates were highest in non-Hispanic Blacks/African Americans and lowest in non-Hispanic Asians/Pacific Islanders (126.8-43.6). Furthermore, age-adjusted mortality rates were highest in individuals from nonmetropolitan areas and the Western region.ConclusionFollowing a period of decline, the age-adjusted mortality rates increased until 2020. The highest age-adjusted mortality rates were observed in non-Hispanic Blacks and nonmetropolitan areas. An urgent restructuring of healthcare policy is needed to reduce heart failure-associated mortality.

PMID:41956996 | PMC:PMC13070146 | DOI:10.1177/03000605261417063