Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia. It has been estimated that 6–12 million people worldwide will suffer this condition in the US by 2050 and 17.9 million people in Europe by 2060. Atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor for ischemic stroke and provokes important economic burden along with significant morbidity and mortality. Aim: We provide here comprehensive and updated statistics on worldwide epidemiology of atrial fibrillation. Methods: An electronic search was conducted for atrial fibrillation. The epidemiologic information was retrieved from the Global Health Data Exchange database, which is regarded as one of the most comprehensive worldwide catalogs of surveys, censuses, vital statistics, and other health-related data. Results: A total of 3.046 million new cases of atrial fibrillation worldwide were registered in the database during 2017. The estimated incidence rate for 2017 (403/millions inhabitants) was 31% higher than the corresponding incidence in 1997. The worldwide prevalence of atrial fibrillation is 37,574 million cases (0.51% of worldwide population), increased also by 33% during the last 20 years. The highest burden is seen in countries with high socio-demographic index, though the largest recent increased occurred in middle socio-demographic index countries. Future projections suggest that absolute atrial fibrillation burden may increase by >60% in 2050. Conclusions: Our analyses suggest that atrial fibrillation incidence and prevalence have increased over the last 20 years and will continue to increase over the next 30 years, especially in countries with middle socio-demographic index, becoming one of the largest epidemics and public health challenges.

The aim of this review is to summarize the incidence, prevalence, trend in mortality, and general prognosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) and a related condition, acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although CHD mortality has gradually declined over the last decades in western countries, this condition still causes about one-third of all deaths in people older than 35 years. This evidence, along with the fact that mortality from CHD is expected to continue increasing in developing countries, illustrates the need for implementing effective primary prevention approaches worldwide and identifying risk groups and areas for possible improvement.

Some population statistics suggested that the epidemiologic burden of heart failure (HF) may have significantly decreased between 2000 and 2010. However, this trend could not be confirmed in other continental or nationwide surveys. We aimed to provide an objective and concise analysis of the worldwide epidemiological burden of HF. An electronic search was performed in Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) registry, with the keyword “heart failure”. The current worldwide prevalence of HF is 64.34 million cases (8.52 per 1,000 inhabitants), accounting for 9.91 million years lost due to disability (YLDs) and 346.17 billion US $ expenditure. YLDs value is marginally higher in men. HF poses the largest burden after 60 years of age and both prevalence and YLDs have increased by 3.9% and 4.5% in very elderly people during the last 28 years. A linear, direct relationship can be found between socio-demographic index (SDI) and both prevalence and YLDs of HF. HF is an emerging worldwide threat whose prevalence and health loss burden constantly increase, especially in the elderly and in people leaving in low-to middle SDI regions. Urgent preventive interventions shall be prioritized and healthcare resources redesigned around this evolving epidemiology.

Regular exercise has multi-system anti-aging effects. Here we summarize how exercise impacts the major hallmarks of aging. We propose that, besides searching for novel pharmaceutical targets of the aging process, more research efforts should be devoted to gaining insights into the molecular mediators of the benefits of exercise and to implement effective exercise interventions for elderly people.