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Heart Failure: A Significant Problem
Heart
failure (HF) is a major public health problem in the
U.S. and Europe:
- Nearly 5 million patients are
diagnosed with heart failure each year in the U.S.,
and it is estimated that there are at least 10 million
cases in Europe1,2
- Over the last decade, the annual
number of hospitalizations for HF in the U.S. as a
primary diagnosis has increased from ~ 550,000 to
900,000 and from 1.7 to 2.6 million for HF as a primary
or secondary diagnosis1
- The disorder is associated with
as many as 15 million office visits and 6.5 million
hospital days in the U.S. each year1
- From 1979 to 2001, CHF deaths
increased 155%.3 Despite advances in treatment,
nearly 300,000 Americans are estimated to die each
year with HF as a primary or contributory cause1
of death
- Half of the patients with a diagnosis
of HF will die within 4 years and in patients with
severe HF, more than 50% will die within 1 year 2
- The total inpatient and outpatient
costs for HF in the U.S. was ~$38.1 billion in 1991,
which was 5.4% of the U.S. healthcare budget1
- For 2004, the estimated direct
and indirect cost of CHF in the United States is $25.8
billion.3
- In the U.K., the total cost of
heart failure to the Health Service was 628.6 million
British pounds, involving over 86,000 hospital admissions4
- In the U.S. alone, approximately
$500 million is spend on the drugs annually for the
treatment of HF1
- Heart failure is the leading cause
of Medicare hospitalization in the U.S. with more
Medicare dollars spent on the diagnosis and treatment
of HF than for any other diagnosis.1 In
1998, $3.6 billion was paid to Medicare beneficiaries
for CHF.3
For more information, please click
on the following subject:
Heart Failure: A Significant
Problem
Characterization
of Heart Failure as a Clinical Syndrome
HF is a Progressive
Disease
Delivering a More Comprehensive Cardiac Solution
Enhancing the Diagnosis of CHF with NT-proBNP
References
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