From all indications, we are facing a global pandemic. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the cause of more than 50% of deaths, not only in developed countries, but the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that low- and middle-income countries are affected significantly. disproportionate: 82% of CVD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries and occur almost equally in men and women. The WHO projects that by 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from CVD. These are expected to remain the leading causes of death. The largest percentage increase will occur in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The largest increase in the number of deaths will occur in the South-East Asia Region.

CVD costs involve: Direct costs that include expenses for hospital care, prescription drugs, medical care, care in other institutions and additional health expenses such as for other professionals, capital costs, public health, health research, etc.; plus indirect costs: includes the value of lost economic output due to disability, either short-term or long-term, or as a result of premature mortality; Other costs may include the value of time lost from work and/or leisure activities by family members or friends caring for patients.

CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels that include:

• coronary heart disease – disease of the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle
• cerebrovascular disease – disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain
• hypertension – high blood pressure
• peripheral arterial disease – disease of the blood vessels supplying the arms and legs
• rheumatic heart disease: damage to the heart muscle and valves from rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria
• heart failure: a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart affects its ability to supply enough blood flow to meet the body’s needs
• congenital heart disease: malformation of the structure of the heart existing at birth
• Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: blood clots in the leg veins, which can break loose and travel to the heart and lungs.

Heart attacks and strokes are usually acute events and are primarily caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to the heart or brain. The most common reason for this is the accumulation of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels that supply the heart or brain. Strokes can also be caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the brain or by blood clots.

The burden of CVD should not be measured solely by deaths. CVD leads to staggering economic costs as well as human burdens. Cardiovascular diseases cost the EU health systems just under $260 billion, representing a per capita cost of more than $500 a year, which represents 10% of health spending across the EU. Looking at these direct costs grossly underestimated the true costs of CVD. Production losses due to death and illness amounted to USD 55 billion. The cost of informal care for CVD patients is another significant non-health cost, estimated at just under US$60 billion. These are just the economic costs… the true cost in human terms of suffering and lives lost is incalculable.

According to the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the staggering burden of CVD in the United States, including health care expenses and lost productivity from deaths and disabilities, was projected to be more than $475 billion. in 2009. By comparison, in 2008, the estimated cost of all cancers and benign tumors was $228 billion.

The economic burden of CVD is no longer an exclusive concern of the rich, industrialized world. With the exception of sub-Saharan Africa, CVD is the leading cause of death in the developing world. The economic impact is felt both as a cost to health systems, as well as lost income and production by those directly affected by the disease and by caregivers of people with CVD, who stop working.

This is exacerbated in the developing world, where CVD affects a high proportion of working-age adults. In China, the direct costs are estimated at more than USD 40 billion from 4% of gross national income. In South Africa, 25% of the country’s health spending is spent on cardiovascular disease. Researchers have already estimated that among the developing economies of Brazil, India, China, South Africa, and Mexico, 21 million years of future productive life are lost to CVD each year. New studies suggest that obesity recently overtook smoking as the “leading modifiable risk factor” affecting length and quality of life. Smoking has long been known as the number one cause of cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, emphysema, and a host of other health problems. Two-thirds of Americans are estimated to be overweight, 50 percent of whom are actually obese. The Mayo Clinic defines obesity as “an excessive amount of body fat that is more than just a cosmetic concern.”

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis. What is starting is that obesity is gradually becoming a more frequent risk factor than smoking. For years now, we’ve heard how smoking is the number one cause of a variety of life-threatening diseases and conditions, including lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; however, recent studies have suggested that obesity is beginning to overshadow the risks of smoking and drinking combined, and at an alarming rate. In 2008, obesity was estimated to cost the US $147 billion and 2010 shouldn’t be much of a relief. In fact, Thomson Reuters estimates that obese people will spend an average of 40 percent more on health costs, or $1,429 more per year than people in a “normal weight range,” in the coming years. The most widespread costs of cardiovascular disease are related to the incidence of heart failure, which increases with age. In 2000, approximately 12.7 percent of the US population was 65 years of age or older. It is estimated that in 2020, 16.5 percent will be in this age group.

According to the CDC, among US residents with heart failure, 70 percent are age 60 and older, indicating that a significant increase in heart failure prevalence is expected in the coming years. Ironically, another factor that has resulted in an increase in the number of people living with heart failure is the success in treating heart attacks. More effective treatments have resulted in better survival rates after heart attacks. According to the CDC, more than 20 percent of men will develop heart failure within six years of their heart attack. An even higher percentage (over 40 percent) of women will develop heart failure within that time frame after having a heart attack. Together, an aging population and a better medical outlook for heart attack victims explain why the annual incidence of heart failure has roughly tripled in the last 10 years.

These factors will also increase the financial impact of heart failure. This is true even though the survival of heart failure patients has improved due to treatment with heart drugs. Human cost Heart failure incurs a cost for patients and their families in terms of the additional difficulty patients have in carrying out their normal daily activities. This human cost was examined in depth in a recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan Health System and the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Health System, based on survey responses from 10,626 heart failure patients. 65 years or older. The study revealed that, compared to people without the condition, people with heart failure:

• Much more likely to be disabled
• You are much more likely to have difficulty with normal daily activities, including things like walking across the room.
• More likely to be in nursing homes
• More likely to have been in a nursing home in the past two years
• More likely to receive home care
• More likely to have experienced clinical conditions that are more common in older adults (such as self-injury due to a fall, urinary incontinence, and dementia)

The main factor that determines the cost of treating heart failure is the high incidence of hospitalization. A large percentage of health care costs associated with heart failure are due to the need to hospitalize patients. Patients with heart failure are at high risk of hospitalization. Results from a National Hospital Discharge Survey show that the number of hospitalizations for heart failure has increased substantially, from more than 400,000 in 1979 to more than 1.1 million in 2004, accounting for nearly 2 percent of all admissions. hospitals in the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, among people with Medicare, heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization. Rehospitalization rates within six months of discharge are as high as 50 percent. The top three causes of hospitalization for heart failure patients are fluid overload (55 percent), angina (chest pain) or heart attack (25 percent), and irregular heart rhythms (15 percent). An effective treatment for fluid overload is increasingly needed, not only to improve the prognosis of patients with heart failure, but also to improve their quality of life. Repeat hospitalizations bode poorly for a patient’s prognosis and quality of life and also lead to increased health care costs.

In 2009, Dr. Eldon Smith’s presentation of Canada’s first comprehensive heart health strategy and action plan stated that “cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) is the leading public health threat and death in Canada , and they cost the economy more than $22 billion annually.” This represents more than $600 for each man, woman and child without attempting to quantify lost years, lost quality of life and lost love.