Heart Failure and Health Economics

Heart failure is a frequent reason for hospitalization in the elderly. In 2002, 979,000 hospital discharges were attributed to heart failure. From 1999-2002, deaths from heart failure increased 35 percent, outpacing the overall U.S. death rate of 7.7 percent.¹

The American Heart Association estimates that direct medical costs for heart failure will amount to $25.3 billion in 2005, including $14.7 billion for hospitalization alone.¹ Indirect costs for lost productivity and death associated with the disease are estimated to be nearly $2 billion.²

Heart Failure: A Challenging Diagnosis

• Clinical assessment is subjective.
• Early stages are asymptomatic and undetectable.³
• Late stages present nonspecific signs and symptoms.
• Heart failure is a difficult diagnosis and up to one-half of diagnoses made in primary healthcare may be incorrect.^4,5
• The use of BNP may reduce both the time to hospital discharge and the cost of treatment.⁶

References