Cardiac rehabilitation in middle-income countries was cost-effective, with Brazilian studies demonstrating mean monthly savings of US$190 for CR compared to a US$48 cost increase in controls.
Is cardiac rehabilitation cost-effective for patients with cardiovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries?
Cardiac rehabilitation appears cost-effective in middle-income countries like Brazil and Colombia, but affordable models are needed for low-income countries where data is lacking.
BACKGROUND: By 2030, more than 80% of cardiovascular disease-related deaths and disability-adjusted life years will occur in the 139 low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been demonstrated to be effective and cost-effective mainly based on data from high-income countries. The purpose of this paper was to review the literature for cost and cost-effectiveness data on CR in LMICs. METHODS: MEDLINE (Ovid) and EMBASE (Ovid) electronic databases were searched for CR 'cost' and 'cost-effectiveness' data in LMICs. RESULTS: Five CR publications with cost and cost-effectiveness data from middle-income countries were identified with none from low-income countries. Studies from Brazil demonstrated mean monthly savings of US190 for CR, with a US48 increase in a control group with mean costs of US503 for a 3-month CR program. Mean costs to the public health care system of US360 and US540 when paid out-of-pocket were reported for a 3-month CR program in seven Latin American middle-income countries. Cardiac rehabilitation is reported to be cost-effective in both Brazil and Colombia. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure in Brazil and Colombia was estimated to be cost-effective. However, given the limited health care budgets in many LMICs, affordable CR models will need to be developed for LMICs, particularly for low-income countries.
Oldridge et al. (Fri,) conducted a review in Cardiovascular disease and heart failure. Cardiac rehabilitation vs. Control group was evaluated on Cost and cost-effectiveness. Cardiac rehabilitation in middle-income countries was cost-effective, with Brazilian studies demonstrating mean monthly savings of US$190 for CR compared to a US$48 cost increase in controls.