National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2007 summary.

Abstract

In 2007, there were an estimated 34.4 million hospital discharges, excluding newborns. The total hospitalization rate leveled off from 1995 to 2007 after declining during the period from 1980 to 1995. Throughout the period from 1970 to 2007 the rates for those aged 65 years and over were significantly higher than the rates for the younger groups. Although those aged 65 years and over accounted for only 13 percent of the total population, they comprised 37 percent of hospital discharges and 43 percent of hospital days. One-quarter of inpatients under age 15 years were hospitalized for respiratory diseases. There were 45 million inpatient procedures during 2007 and 15 percent of these were cardiovascular. Males aged 45-64 and 65 years and over had higher cardiac catheterization rates than females in these age groups each year from 1997 to 2007. From 2002 to 2007 the rate of inpatient cardiac catheterization procedures declined.