The Numbers: Hospital Mortality for Four Key Conditions Continues Downward

Hospital mortality rates for heart failure, pneumonia, myocardial infarction, and stroke continue to trend downward, according to data from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Among the findings:

• Between 1994 and 2007, inpatient mortality rates for heart failure dropped by 60%; for pneumonia, 55%; for MI, 47%; and for stroke, 35%.
• The midwestern states had the greatest decreases in mortality for all four conditions.
• Nationally, in 2000 the poorest communities had lower rates of inpatient mortality for heart failure and pneumonia than the richest communities, but by 2007 the groups had switched their relative rankings.

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