Burden of illness among patients at high risk versus low risk for major cardiovascular events

This study was designed to compare the burden of illness (BOI) in patients at high risk versus low risk of developing a major cardiovascular (CV) event.

This retrospective claims data analysis included commercial health plan members identified with a primary diagnosis on a medical claim for cardiovascular disease (CVD) from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2002. Patients were categorized as: low risk (LR), high risk (HR), or high risk aged≥55 (HR55), based on the ONTARGET clinical trial.

Most patients (85%) were in the LR category (8% in HR55, 7% in HR). A significantly greater proportion of patients in the HR55 group were hospitalized and experienced a greater number of ambulatory visits compared with LR and HR patients. Controlling for covariates, HR55 patients averaged $22,502 in paid healthcare services over 2 years versus $15,645 for HR patients and $11,423 for LR patients (p<0.001). CV-related costs represented about 46% of costs for the HR55 group, versus 41% for the HR group and 31% for the LR group.

Claims data are collected for the purpose of payment and not research and the presence of a diagnosis code is not proof of disease, due to possible coding errors or the use of a rule-out criterion. Also, patients who died in the follow-up were not included in the analyses, resulting in lower BOI estimates. Finally, the results of this study reflect treatment of CVD in managed-care settings, and may not be applicable to a different type of population.

This study demonstrates the high BOI associated with CVD, especially for patients within the high-risk group aged≥55 years. Opportunities exist for reducing costs in this population.