UCLA study finds heart failure medications highly cost-effective

A UCLA study shows that heart failure medications recommended by national guidelines are highly cost-effective in saving lives and may also provide savings to the health care system.   Heart failure, a chronic, progressive disease, affects millions of individuals and results in considerable morbidity, the use of extensive health care resources and substantial costs.   Currently online, the study will be published in the April 2 print issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers studied the incremental health and cost benefits of three common heart failure medications that are recommended by national guidelines developed by organizations like the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.   This is one of the first studies analyzing the incremental cost-effectiveness of heart failure medications and taking into account the very latest information, including the lower costs of generic versions of the medications. Researchers found that the combination of these medical therapies demonstrated the greatest gains in quality-adjusted life years for heart failure patients.   "We found that use of one or more of these key medications in combination was associated with significant health gains while at the same time being cost-effective or providing a cost savings," said the study's senior author, Dr. Gregg Fonarow, UCLA's Eliot Corday Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science and director of the Ahmanso...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news