Objectives To examine the trends in hospitalisation rates for coronary heart disease from 2007 to 2009 in Beijing.

Methods The authors determined hospitalisation rates for coronary heart disease using data from Beijing Hospital Discharge Database and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics from 2007 to 2009. A total of 182 791 patients aged 25 years or more, hospitalised with the primary discharge diagnosis of coronary heart disease, were examined.

Results The overall coronary heart disease age-standardised hospitalisation rate in Beijing increased by 13.3% in two years, from 444.2 per 100 000 in 2007 to 503.5 per 100 000 in 2009. The greatest increase was 49.7%, which was observed for patients diagnosed with unstable angina. The rate of hospitalisation increased by 20.1% for acute myocardial infarction, but decreased by 10.2% for other coronary heart diseases. Although the trends in coronary heart disease were similar between men and women, men had significantly higher rate for acute myocardial infarction than women (21.3% vs 16.6%). There was a greater increase of hospitalisation rate among younger people than the older (aged 65 years or more), 35.8% vs 15.2% for acute myocardial infarction, 75.8% vs 42.0% for unstable angina, respectively. The hospitalisation rates of coronary heart disease increased annually over 2 years among the three areas in Beijing (urban, suburbs and outer-suburbs), and the greatest increase (29.4%) was found in outer-suburbs.

Conclusion There was an increase in hospitalisation rate for coronary heart disease in Beijing, especially for those younger people (aged 25–64 years) and those living in outer-suburbs area who need more medical resources. Awareness of these trends may help to evaluate the burden of cardiovascular disease accurately and adjust the distribution and utilisation of healthcare resources for policy makers.