"There is a marked asymmetry in the national distribution. Compared to the Lisbon region and Vale do Tejo, where a prevalence of 18.8% was found, Alentejo has a risk that is about twice as high (29.2%), while in the North region the risk is 50% lower (12.9%)", cardiologist and principal researcher of the observational study Porthos told Lusa news agency, Cristina Gavina. The prevalence of heart failure (HF) in the Central region is 17.90% and in the Algarve it is 6.61%, the region with the lowest value, indicate the results of the study that are presented today at the Congress of the European Heart Failure Association, which takes place until Tuesday in Lisbon, within the scope of the International Heart Failure Week. For the researcher, this data shows that we are facing "a public health problem with a very considerable dimension", therefore defending that it is "imperative to reflect on these results and design health policies that allow us to respond to this problem". More than 25 years after the last national study that evaluated the prevalence of heart failure in the Portuguese population, Porthos, an initiative of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology and AstraZeneca, in partnership with NOVA Medical School, highlights that the number of people living with the disease is much higher than expected. The research confirms that it is a syndrome associated with aging, with a prevalence of 31% in those over 70 years of age, while in people between 50 and 59 years of age it is 4%. It is estimated that one in six Portuguese people live with heart failure, with women having a 2.3 times greater risk than men of developing the disease. According to the study, most people have a type of heart failure in which the heart has difficulty relaxing, in order to accommodate the blood that arrives from the lungs, called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which is more common in older women, particularly over 70 years of age. The research indicates that more than 90% of people are unaware that they have the disease, especially women, those over 70 and patients with the form of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Cristina Gavina highlights the importance of prevention, "not only of the risk factors that can lead to heart failure, but also of an early diagnosis of those who already have the syndrome and do not have, due to lack of knowledge, access to treatment". The study took place between December 2021 and September 2023, involving a sample of 6,189 people over 50 years of age registered with the National Health Service in Mainland Portugal. The research was based on an innovative model of collaborative research, bringing together a large team of researchers, doctors and other health professionals from the partner entities who collaborated with each other in the design and development of the study. Heart failure syndrome is one of the most common health problems in the developed world, being the main cause of hospital admissions over 65 years of age and its mortality can reach 50% after five years. Read Also: Cardiologist explains how to reduce the risk of heart failure (Portuguese version)