Chronic diseases like hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions continue to affect the health of Americans all over the country. The resulting economic costs have a significant impact on the economy – to the tune more than $1 trillion annually.
According to a recent study by The Milken Institute, the US economy is currently suffering from $1.3 trillion in annual costs due to the most common chronic conditions. According to the study, if the costs keep rising as expected, the economic effect could reach $6 trillion annually by the middle century.
These numbers are alarmingly negative. However, there’s good news: some of these expenses may be avoidable.
“Chronic diseases, especially heart failure, will affect an increasing number of Americans in the foreseeable future,”John Russell is vice president and general manger of patient management at Boston Scientific Cardiac Rhythm Management Group. “But heart failure, in particular, can often be successfully managed.”
Around 22 million people around the world, including approximately 5.55 million Americans, suffer from heart disease. It is the leading reason for hospitalizations for seniors 65 years and older. Two of the main reasons for economic concern are rising emergency room fees and critical hospital costs incurred as a result heart failure hospitalization.
An increasing number of patients with heart failure are now receiving an implanted device that defibrillates to treat their condition. These patients can track their symptoms via wireless technology every day. Boston Scientific’s LATITUDE patient management system was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as the first product to allow wireless monitoring at home of medical devices.
LATITUDE detects clinical events in between follow-up visits. The system then transmits the data directly to physicians. This allows physicians to intervene sooner in the patient’s care and prevents potential emergency hospitalization.
“Catching rapidly deteriorating health symptoms in chronic disease before it becomes an emergency situation can not only help save lives, but also health care dollars,”Russell stated.
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