October 23, 2024The American Journal of Cardiology9 citationsOpen Access
National Costs for Cardiovascular-Related Hospitalizations and Inpatient Procedures in the United States, 2016 to 2021
Key Result
Cardiovascular-related hospitalizations and procedures demonstrated upward trends from 2016 to 2021, with total costs increasing by 10% to reach $108 billion in 2021.
Key Points
- To characterize the economic burden of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations and procedural utilization from 2016 to 2021.
- Retrospective analysis of the National Inpatient Sample database
- Assessment of cardiovascular-related hospitalizations and costs
- Data adjusted to 2023 dollars
- 4,687,370 cardiovascular-related hospitalizations occurred in 2021, costing $108 billion
- Heart failure was the costliest diagnosis at $18.5 billion, followed by non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction at $11.2 billion
- Total costs increased by over $10 billion, a 10% rise, with notable fluctuations year-to-year.
Study Design
Type
Observational (n=4,687,370)
Multicenter
Yes
Structured PICO
P
Population
4,687,370 cardiovascular-related hospitalizations in the United States in 2021, analyzed retrospectively to identify trends in costs and procedural utilization from 2016 to 2021.
O
Outcome
Trends in cardiovascular-related hospitalizations, procedural utilization, and health care costs
Cardiovascular-related hospitalizations and associated costs in the US have increased significantly from 2016 to 2021, reaching $108 billion in 2021, driven primarily by heart failure.
Abstract
The current economic burden of cardiovascular (CV) -related hospitalizations grouped by diagnoses and procedures in the United States has not been well characterized. The objective was to identify current trends in CV-related hospitalizations, procedural utilization, and health care costs using the most recent 6 years of hospitalization data. A retrospective analysis of discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample database was conducted to determine trends in CV-related hospitalizations, costs, and procedures for each year from 2016 to the most recent available dataset, 2021. Total CV-related costs were adjusted to and reported in 2023 dollars. In 2021, there were 4, 687, 370 CV-related hospitalizations at a cost of 108 billion. Heart failure hospitalizations accounted for the highest costs at 18. 5 billion, followed by non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction at 11. 2 billion and stroke at 10. 9 billion. Significant upward trends in costs from 2016 to 2021 were observed for heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, ST-elevation myocardial infarction, chest pain, hypertensive emergency, ventricular tachycardia, aortic dissection, sudden cardiac death, pericarditis, supraventricular tachycardia, and pulmonary heart disease. Over the 6 observational years, total costs increased by over 10 billion, representing a 10% increase. However, the increases were not linear, as there was a significant increase of 6. 5% from 2018 to 2019, then a decrease of over 7% from 2019 to 2020, followed by an increase of approximately 6% from 2020 to 2021. By 2030, total CV-related costs are projected to reach 131. 3 billion. For all years, coronary procedures were the most performed, followed by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, non-bypass peripheral vascular surgery, pacemaker placement, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Both transcatheter aortic valve replacement and MitraClip procedures demonstrated significant upward trends from 2016 to 2021. Overall, from the years 2016 to 2021, CV-related hospitalizations, costs, and procedures demonstrated upward trends. In conclusion, CV disease remains a high burden in the hospital setting with tremendous health care costs.