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Published on: June 10, 2025
Economic Issues in Heart Failure in the United States
Paul A Heidenreich1, Gregg C Fonarow2, Yekaterina Opsha3
1Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California; VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California.
Insights
Heart failure care is costly due to hospitalizations and treatments. Inexpensive, older heart failure medications are highly cost-effective, while newer options may have high patient costs.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Cardiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Heart failure care incurs significant costs, driven by hospitalizations and chronic management.
- Treatment effectiveness and cost vary widely, impacting patients and the healthcare system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the economic burden of heart failure in the United States.
- To summarize the cost-effectiveness of various heart failure interventions, including drugs, devices, diagnostics, and care transitions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing data on heart failure costs and treatment effectiveness.
- Analysis focused on cost per unit of benefit, often measured as an additional year of life.
Main Results:
- Inexpensive, generic medications like angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists are highly cost-effective.
- Newer medications and devices show variable cost-effectiveness, frequently resulting in high out-of-pocket expenses for patients.
Conclusions:
- Generic heart failure medications offer significant value and cost-effectiveness.
- The high cost of newer therapies necessitates careful consideration of patient financial burden and overall healthcare system impact.
Abstract:
The cost of heart failure care is high owing to the cost of hospitalization and chronic treatments. Heart failure treatments vary in their benefit and cost. The cost effectiveness of therapies can be determined by comparing the cost of treatment required to obtain a certain benefit, often defined as an increase in 1 year of life. This review was sponsored by the Heart Failure Society of America and describes the growing economic burden of heart failure for patients and the health care system in the United States. It also provides a summary of the cost effectiveness of drugs, devices, diagnostic tests, hospital care, and transitions of care for patients with heart failure. Many medications that are no longer under patent are inexpensive and highly cost-effective. These include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. In contrast, more recently developed medications and devices, vary in cost effectiveness, and often have high out-of-pocket costs for patients.
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