The cost to treat heart disease will triple by 2030, and lost productivity costs alone will increase by an estimated 61 percent, according to a policy statement issued this week by an American Heart Association (AHA) expert panel.
For the study, productivity losses are defined as days missed from home or work tasks because of illness and potential lost earnings because of premature death.
The panel said effective prevention strategies are needed to limit the growing burden of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States that accounts for 17 percent of overall national health expenditures.
“Unhealthy behaviors and unhealthy environments have contributed to a tidal wave of risk factors among many Americans,” said AHA CEO Nancy Brown. “Early intervention and evidence-based public policies are absolute musts to significantly reduce alarming rates of obesity, hypertension, tobacco use and cholesterol levels.”
About the Findings
To prepare for future cardiovascular care needs, the AHA developed methodology to project future costs of care for hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke and all other cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) from 2010 to 2030. Projected costs are based on current rates of disease and census data to adjust for anticipated population shifts in age and race. The methodology avoided double counting of costs for patients with multiple cardiovascular conditions.
“Despite the successes in reducing and treating heart disease over the last half century, even if we just maintain our current rates, we will have an enormous financial burden on top of the disease itself,” said Paul Heidenreich, M.D., chair of the AHA panel that issued the statement. “These estimates don’t assume that we will continue to make new discoveries to reduce heart disease. If our ability to prevent and treat heart disease stays where we are right now, costs will triple in 20 years just through demographic changes in the population.”
Currently, 1 in 3 Americans (36.9 percent) have some form of heart disease. By 2030, approximately 116 million people in the United States (40.5 percent) will have some form of cardiovascular disease, the panel said. The largest increases are anticipated in stroke (up 25 percent) and heart failure (up 25 percent).
Between 2010-30, the cost of medical care for heart disease (in 2008 dollar values) will rise from $273 billion to $818 billion, the authors predicted.
“We were all surprised at the remarkable increase in costs that are expected in the next two decades,” Dr. Heidenreich said. “We need to continue to invest resources in the prevention of disease, the treatment of risk factors and early treatment of existing disease to reduce that burden.”
References
Forecasting the Future of Cardiovascular Disease in the United States: A Policy Statement From the American Heart Association; Circulation, January 2011.
In Another Study...
Heart Attack Major Source of Costs
Meanwhile, employees with myocardial infarction (heart attack) and other types of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were found to be a major source of direct and indirect health costs in a study published in the January edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The findings show that ACS is even more costly than other conditions common in working-age adults, such as asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Medical insurance claims were used to estimate costs: Direct costs for workers with ACS were $40,000 higher, on average, than for other workers. Initial hospitalization accounted for about half of the costs; 30% of workers with ACS had at least one more heart disease hospitalization within a year of the first.
ACS also is associated with higher indirect short-term disability costs: about $1,000 per case/year. While costs associated with work absence did not significantly increase, those findings were based on a small number of cases.
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