This review systematically analyzes the cardiovascular surgery data presented in the "Annual Report on Cardiovascular Health and Diseases in China" over the past two decades, identifying three core characteristics that highlight its role in advancing the field. Firstly, the report has progressively upgraded its data sources, transitioning from early-stage society-based questionnaires to the comprehensive and detailed national hospital quality monitoring system (HQMS). This shift has enabled a more precise depiction of surgical volumes, evolving treatment modalities (such as the changing dynamics between transcatheter aortic valve replacement and surgical aortic valve replacement), and clinical outcomes. Secondly, the report focuses on key quality control indicators. By analyzing metrics for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), including internal mammary artery utilization, perioperative medication standards, and the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)-to-CABG ratio, it has identified areas for improvement and guided quality enhancement by tracking the development of advanced therapies for end-stage heart failure, such as heart transplantation and left ventricular assist devices. Thirdly, the report has consistently promoted epidemiological research, filling critical data gaps on major diseases. This has clarified the etiological shift in valvular heart disease from rheumatic to degenerative causes and revealed the unique epidemiological features and therapeutic challenges of critical conditions like aortic dissection in the Chinese population. The purpose of this review is to elucidate, through the aforementioned analysis, how the Annual Report, by leveraging its evolving data and content strategy, has played a strategic role in guiding the discipline’s progress and quality improvement, beyond its function as a historical record.
