(RxWiki News) Heart disease costs are predicted to triple in the next 20 years in the U.S., according to predictions from the American Heart Association (AHA).
Heart disease -- the nation's No. 1 killer -- takes many forms: high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke, among others. About one in three Americans has some form of heart disease, and that number is expected to increase to 40.5 percent (116 million people) by 2030.
Currently costs average approximately $273 billion annually, about 17 percent of the national health expenditure. That figure could skyrocket to $818 adjusted U.S. dollars by 2030 if effective prevention strategies are not implemented.
Paul Heidenreich, M.D., chair of the expert panel issuing the statement, said despite recent successes in reducing and treating heart disease over the past 50 years, the country faces an enormous financial burden "even if we just maintain our current rates."
Heart failure and stroke are expected to increase the most (up 24.9 percent and 25 percent, respectively) over the next two decades.
Aside from medical costs, productivity and potential earnings lost to heart disease due to absenteeism or premature death is expected to spike from $172 billion in 2010 to $276 billion in 2030.
