Post-event follow-up costs in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in Spain

The objective of the study was to determine the average annual cost of patients with a new or recurrent atherosclerotic CV event during the 2 years after the event.METHODOLOGY: Retrospective observational study of electronic medical records of patients from the BIG-PAC® database (7 integrated health areas of 7 Autonomous Communities; n = 1.8 million). Patients with a new or recurrent episode of ASCVD (angina, acute myocardial infarction, transient ischemic attack, stroke, or peripheral arterial disease) between 1-Jan-2017 and 31-Dec-2018 were included. The resources use within two years of the diagnosis was estimated in order to estimate the average cost of patient follow-up.RESULTS: A total of 26,976 patients with an ASCVD episode were identified during the recruitment period; Out of them, 6,798 had a recurrent event during the follow-up period and 2,414 died. The average costs per patient were €11,171 during the first year and €9,944 during the second year.DISCUSSION: Patients with ASCVD represent a significant economic burden for the health system and for society. Despite the perception that drug costs in the follow-up of chronic patients imply a high percentage of the costs, these accounted for only one tenth of the total amount. Implementing preventive programs and increasing the control of cardiovascular risk factors may have a significant social and health impact by helping to reduce mortality and costs for the Spanish National Health System. The costs derived fro...
Source: Atherosclerosis - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research