Heart failure (HF) admission and in-hospital mortality rates declined significantly in the US from 2001-2014, with the greatest decline in hospitalization outcomes coinciding with the publication of the 2005 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association HF guidelines. This according to a study that estimated national trends in admission and in-hospital mortality of patients with HF in the US for years 2001-2014, during which an estimated 57.4 million HF-associated admissions occurred. Among the findings:

• Rates of admissions and in-hospital mortality among primary HF hospitalizations declined by an average annual rate of 3% and 3.5%, respectively.
• The average annual rate of decline in primary HF admissions was greater in 2006 to 2009, compared with 2001 to 2005.
• Primary HF admission continued to decline by an average annual rate of 4.3% in 2010 to 2014.
• Conversely, there was no further decline in in-hospital mortality trend after the guideline-release years.
• After publication of the ACC/AHA guidelines, there was a further decrease in the trend of HF admissions as a primary or a secondary diagnosis as well as in‐hospital mortality when HF was a secondary diagnosis.