Heart failure – contacts per 1,000 inhabitants, 75 years and older
Discussion
The number of patients has increased from 4,700 in 2015 to 10,200 in 2024, while the number of consultations has risen from 9,800 to 23,000. This represents more than a doubling of both patients and consultations during the period. The gender- and age-adjusted rate has also increased significantly, indicating that demographic changes only partially explain the growth.
There is considerable geographic variation in patient rates in 2024. The lowest rate is in the catchment area of Innlandet, with 12.4 patients per 1,000 inhabitants, and the highest in the catchment area of Østfold, with 30.4. The contact rate ranges from 22 contacts per 1,000 inhabitants in the catchment area of Førde to 88 in Østfold. Rates in Østfold have increased significantly since 2020.
The catchment area of Finnmark saw a large increase in the number of contacts per 1,000 inhabitants from 2022 to 2023 – from 17 to 67. This can be linked to the establishment of three heart failure outpatient clinics in 2023.
The analysis is based on activity data from the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) for somatic specialist healthcare services. The data includes activity from public hospitals, private hospitals providing publicly funded services, and contracted specialists with public funding agreements. Comparisons with other sources suggest that reporting to NPR from contracted specialists is incomplete. For this analysis, consultations from contracted specialists account for just under 5% of the total number of consultations.
The sample includes outpatient consultations for patients aged 75 and older with a primary diagnosis of heart failure, defined by the ICD-10 codes I11.0, I13.0, I13.2, I50.0, I50.1, and I50.9.
Where the patient was treated is divided into three categories:
- Own health trust: Treated at one of the hospitals in the catchment area
- Other health trust: Treated at a hospital outside the catchment area
- Private: Treated at a private hospital or by a contract specialist
The total number of heart failure consultations in Norway was 50,200 in 2024. Of these, 54% were for patients younger than 75 years.
To allow comparisons between catchment areas and across years, the rates are adjusted for gender and age. The adjustment was performed using the direct method, with the country’s 2023 population as the reference population.
In graphs with patient‑aggregated data, the numbers are adjusted to avoid double‑counting patients. The actual number of patients is therefore higher when looking at a single variable for a focus area. For example, patients who have received both private and public treatment during a year are counted only once in total, which means that the number of patients in private treatment will be underreported.
SKDE is solely responsible for the interpretation and presentation of the data provided by NPR. FHI/NPR is not responsible for analyses or interpretations based on these data.