Trends in Pulmonary Hypertension Mortality and Morbidity

CONTEXT Few reports have been published regarding surveillance data for pulmonary hypertension, a debilitating and often fatal condition. AIMS We report trends in pulmonary hypertension. SETTINGS AND DESIGN United States of America; vital statistics, hospital data. METHODS AND MATERIAL We used mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) for 1999-2008 and hospital discharge data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) for 1999-2009. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED We present age-standardized rates. Results. Since 1999, the numbers of deaths and hospitalizations as well as death rates and hospitalization rates for pulmonary hypertension have increased. In 1999 death rates were higher for men than for women; however, by 2002, no differences by gender remained because of the increasing death rates among women and the declining death rates among men; after 2003 death rates for women were higher than for men. Death rates throughout the reporting period 1999-2008 were higher for blacks than for whites. Hospitalization rates in women were 1.3-1.6 times higher than in men. CONCLUSIONS Pulmonary hypertension mortality and hospitalization numbers and rates increased from 1999 to 2008.