Heart Failure: Treatment
Options, Disease Management & Economic Factors.
Abstract
Heart failure (HF) is a growing disease, affecting 1-2% of the general population in the developed world and accounting for 5% of all adult hospitalizations. Mortality can be as high as 40% within the first year of diagnosis with an additional 10% risk for each additional year6. Its current treatment options span from pharmacologic drugs to implantable cardiac devices to major surgery. Managing this disease, however, is becoming more and more economically cumbersome. Almost 18 billion dollars are spent annually on the overall management of this disease, with the majority of it attributed to hospitalization costs7. Further, HF represents the primary cause for hospitalizations for patients over the age of 65 years8, and 50% of previously hospitalized patients require rehospitalization within just the first 3 months due to HF decompensation9. New avenues must be explored to improve the quality of life while preventing continued hospitalizations, thereby improving patient conditions while reducing the overall HF disease cost burden. This paper will explore the current state of treatment options and disease management for HF, as well as strategies that could reduce the economic burden in the future while yielding better results for the patients.
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