Millions of Americans are living with heart failure, and new evidence shows this epidemic is especially dire for Black communities. Fresh data from the Heart Failure Society of America reveal that 6.7 million U.S. adults are grappling with this life-threatening illness, a number projected to soar to 11.4 million by 2050. The odds of developing heart failure are starkly uneven; Black adults face substantially higher risk than any other racial or ethnic group.
Risk factors—including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease—are driving heart failure prevalence upward, with many patients managing multiple conditions at once. These preexisting health burdens disproportionately affect minority communities, compounding the elevated risk of heart failure and worsening outcomes. Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, chair of the HFSA writing group, underscored the urgency, noting the “surge in mortality and continued underutilization of evidence-based therapies,” which leaves many vulnerable patients without critical care.
Experts stress the need to not only improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, but also to better understand the systemic and structural barriers fueling these disparities. Racial gaps in care and outcome remain a “consistent” reality, the report warns, calling for clinicians to collaborate across specialties and address the underlying factors that affect minority populations most.
See: “America’s heart failure epidemic is getting worse” (September 22, 2025)
