TUESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- If current rates continue, the cost of treating cardiovascular disease (CVD) is likely to increase three-fold within the next two decades, according to a policy statement published online Jan. 24 in Circulation.
Paul A. Heidenreich, M.D., of the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, and other members of an expert panel on behalf of the American Heart Association, used U.S. Census data to project population counts and estimate future medical costs based on current disease rates while avoiding double cost counts for patients with multiple heart-related conditions.
Currently, 36.9 percent of Americans have heart disease in one form or another; the panelists estimate that approximately 116 million people (40.5 percent) in the United States will be afflicted by 2030. The cost of medical care to treat heart disease will rise from $273 billion in 2010 to $818 billion in 2030, while the cost in lost productivity will increase from about $172 billion to $276 billion, the panel estimates.
"CVD prevalence and costs are projected to increase substantially in the future. It is fortunate that CVD is largely preventable; our health care system should promote prevention and early intervention. Through a combination of improved prevention of risk factors, and treatment of established risk factors, the dire projection of the health and economic impact of CVD can be diminished," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical and/or medical device companies.
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