Uijl A, et al. - In a cohort of 871,687 individuals 55 years or older and free of heart failure (HF) at baseline, researchers examined the consistency of risk factors for incident HF across different subgroups from the general population by using linked electronic health records (EHR) data from 2000 to 2010. They calculated hazard ratios for links between risk factors and incident HF, separately for men and women and by age category: 55–64, 65–74, and > 75 years, by using Cox proportional hazards analysis, with primary endpoint being the first record of HF from primary or secondary care. A median follow-up of 5.8 years revealed 47,987 incident HF cases. Risk factors associated with HF included age, social deprivation, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, body mass index, haemoglobin, total white blood cell count and creatinine. Stronger associations of smoking, atrial fibrillation and diabetes, with incident HF in women vs men, were evident. Findings highlight the importance of preventive strategies targeting such risk factors for HF.