Cost to Treat Heart
Disease in U.S. to Triple by 2030 as Boomers Flood Senior Citizen Ranks
By 2030,
approximately 116 million people in the United States (40.5%) will have
some form of cardiovascular disease: American Heart Association
Jan. 24, 2011 -
The cost to treat heart disease in the United States will triple by
2030, according to a policy statement published in Circulation:
Journal of the American Heart Association. The $545 billion increase
will be due in part to the growth of the senior citizen population. AHA
says it’s urgent to implement effective strategies to prevent heart
disease and stroke.
“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 American Heart Association expert panel
issuing the statement.
The panel
estimated future medical costs based on the current rates of disease and
used Census data to adjust for anticipated population shifts in age and
race. The rigorous methods they devised didn’t double count costs for
patients with multiple heart conditions.
“These estimates
don’t assume that we will continue to make new discoveries to reduce
heart disease,” Heidenreich said.
“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.”
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 Nancy Brown, American Heart
Association CEO.
“Early
intervention and evidence-based public policies are absolute musts to
significantly reduce alarming rates of obesity, hypertension, tobacco
use and cholesterol levels.”
Currently, 1 in
3 Americans (36.9 percent) have some form of heart disease, including
high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke and
other conditions.
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 24.9 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,” 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.”
Heart disease
will also cost the nation billions more in lost productivity, increasing
from an estimated $172 billion in 2010 to $276 billion in 2030.
Productivity losses include days missed from home or work tasks because
of illness and potential lost earnings due to premature death.
Co-authors
writing on behalf of the various councils are: Justin G. Trogdon, Ph.D.;
Olga A. Khavjou, M.A.; Javed Butler, M.D.; Kathleen Dracup, R.N.,
D.N.Sc.; Michael D. Ezekowitz, M.B.Ch.B., D.Phil.; Eric Andrew
Finkelstein, Ph.D.; Yuling Hong, M.D., Ph.D.; S. Claiborne Johnston,
M.D., Ph.D.; Amit Khera, M.D.; Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D.; Sue A.
Nelson, M.P.A.; Graham Nichol, M.D.; Diane Orenstein, Ph.D.; Peter W.F.
Wilson M.D. and Y. Joseph Woo, M.D.
NOTE: The
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association receives funding
mostly from individuals. Foundations and corporations donate as well,
and fund specific programs and events. Strict policies are enforced to
prevent these relationships from influencing the association’s science
content. Financial information for the American Heart Association,
including a list of contributions from pharmaceutical companies and
device manufacturers, is available at
www.heart.org/corporatefunding.
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Jan. 24, 2011 -
The cost to treat heart disease in the United States will triple by
2030, according to a policy statement published in Circulation:
Journal of the American Heart Association. The $545 billion increase
will be due in part to the growth of the senior citizen population. AHA
says it’s urgent to implement effective strategies to prevent heart
disease and stroke.
"We win because we care, we prepare
and we have no fear," Beth Janicek, board certified personal
injury attorney