Cardiopulmonary diagnoses by nuclear medicine techniques--where we have been, where we are, where we are going

In order to not only survive, but to carry out our mission in health care delivery, nuclear medicine procedures will have to be competitive with the many other techniques that are available for assessing cardiopulmonary structure or function. Our tests must also be shown to be cost-effective. According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular diseases alone had an economic cost of 56.9 billion dollars in 1983. Of this enormous sum only a very small percentage could be attributed to the performance of diagnostic nuclear medicine examinations. In addition to the economic cost, cardiovascular diseases accounted for 51% of all deaths in 1980. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health show that 8.26 million (26.3%) of the national noninstitutionalized handicapped are the result of heart conditions and hypertension. These statistics are especially tragic since cardiovascular disease tends to strike a large proportion of persons in their most productive working years. We must avoid becoming penny wise and pound foolish when we decide whether or not to perform diagnostic examinations. Information obtained from these tests can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy (or lack thereof), determine those patients who are at greatest risk of subsequent events and, therefore, require the most intensive investigation and therapy, and similarly identify that population at very low risk of having subsequent cardiac events and, therefore, requiring little, if any, therapy and no further investigation. Is such an approach economically feasible? An estimated 1.5 million Americans will have a heart attack this year, and about 550,000 of them will die. Of these persons, 350,000 will die before they reach the hospital. This leaves 1,150,000 persons who will be hospitalized due to myocardial infarction. As an example, if every one of these patients had a GBP study, at an estimated cost of +350.00 per examination, the cost would be about +400,000,000 or 0.7% of the total cost of cardiovascular diseases. This figure would roughly double if either a 201Tl or GBP study was performed with stress. Thus, our examinations constitute only a small percentage of the overall cost of cardiopulmonary disease. If one of these tests results in even a day early CCU to general bed transfer, early discharge, deferment of angiography, or surgery, or long-term medical therapy, then they will be cost-effective. We believe that a strong case can be made for optimism about the continued growth and expansion of nuclear techniques.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)