THURSDAY, Dec. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Death rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke fell in a recent period, but inpatient cardiovascular procedures rose at the same time and costs exerted a sizable burden compared to other conditions, according to updated statistics published online Dec. 15 in Circulation.
Véronique L. Roger, M.D., M.P.H., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues on the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee write that the overall death rate from CVD in 2007 was 251.2 per 100,000, which was a 27.8 percent decline from 1997. Based on 2007 data, more than 2,200 Americans die of CVD daily. The stroke death rate fell 44.8 percent from 1997 to 2007.
According to the authors, the number of inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures rose 27 percent from 1997 to 2007. Total direct and indirect costs for CVD and stroke in 2007 were an estimated $286.4 billion, higher than costs for any other diagnostic group.
"By comparison, in 2008, the estimated cost of all cancer and benign neoplasms was $228 billion ($93 billion in direct costs, $19 billion in morbidity indirect costs, and $116 billion in mortality indirect costs). CVD costs more than any other diagnostic group," the authors write. "In light of the current national focus on health care utilization, costs, and quality, it is critical to monitor and understand the magnitude of health care delivery and costs, as well as the quality of health care delivery, related to CVDs."
Several co-authors disclosed financial relationships with pharmaceutical, medical device, and other companies.
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