Epidemiology and
Pathophysiology
HEART
FAILURE
Clinical Overview
Epidemiology and
Pathophysiology
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Heart failure places a significant economic burden on society, consuming an estimated $18.8 billion in health care expenditures in 1998.1 More than $7 billion was spent on the 1 million hospitalizations that took place for this condition in 1990.4 According to information supplied by the Health Care Financing Administration, Medicare paid $2.4 billion in 1992 for 654,000 hospital admissions for patients with a principal diagnosis of heart failure. Actual hospital charges for heart failure treatment for Medicare patients were more than double this amount, totaling $5.6 billion (mean charge: $8,500).3 The second largest cost was for nursing home stay. On an outpatient basis, CHF is the cause for 3 million physician office visits annually with an annual cost basis of about $3 billion. CHF is the leading cause of death in the Medicare age group and one the most common causes of impaired quality of life and loss of independence in the elderly.2 |
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