Heart failure is a public health issue worldwide. However, no comprehensive study on the global burden of heart failure and its contributing causes has been reported. The present study aimed to quantify the burden, trends, and inequalities of heart failure globally.

Heart failure data were extracted from the Global Burden of Diseases 2019 study. The number of cases, age‐standardized prevalence, and years lived with disability in different locations from 1990 to 2019 were presented and compared. Joinpoint regression analysis was performed to assess trends in heart failure from 1990 to 2019.

In 2019, the global age‐standardized prevalence and years lived with disability rates for heart failure were 711.90 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 591.15–858.29) and 63.92 (95% UI, 41.49–91.95) per 100 000 population, respectively. In general, the age‐standardized rate decreased globally at an average annual percentage change of 0.3% (95% UI, 0.2–0.3). However, the rate increased at an average annual percentage change of 0.6% (95% UI, 0.4–0.8) from 2017 to 2019. Several nations and territories demonstrated an increased trend from 1990 to 2019, especially in less‐developed countries. Ischemic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease accounted for the highest proportion of heart failure in 2019.

Heart failure remains a major health problem, with increased trends possible in the future. Efforts for prevention and control of heart failure should focus more on less‐developed regions. It is essential to prevent and treat primary diseases such as ischemic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease for the control of heart failure.