Abstract Aims The long‐term outcome in patients with heart failure (HF) after hospitalization may vary substantially depending on their age and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). We aimed to assess the relative rates of cardiovascular death (CVD) and non‐CVD based on the age and how the rates differ under the updated LVEF classification system. Methods and results Consecutively registered hospitalized patients with HF (N = 3558; 39.7% women with a mean age of 73.9 ± 13.3 years) were followed for a median of 2 (interquartile range, 0.8–3.1) years. The CVDs and non‐CVDs were evaluated based on age [young (