THE SAGE GROUP Estimates that the 2010 Annual Economic Cost of Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) was $164 to $290 Billion

ATLANTA, Jun 01, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –At the opening session of the 12th annual New Cardiovascular Horizons (NCVH) meeting in New Orleans, Mary L. Yost, President of THE SAGE GROUP, spoke on the prevalence of PAD and the economic impact.

“Last year PAD cost the U.S. between $164 and $290 billion,” stated Yost. “The magnitude of these numbers is astonishing,” she continued.

Ms. Yost explained, “Annual per patient costs are based on two studies, the U.S. REACH (reduction of atherothrombosis for continued health) registry and the Margolis and colleagues managed care database. Using the medical care consumer price index, we translated 2003 and 2004 costs found in these studies into 2010 dollars and then calculated the totals based on our estimate of 17.6 million with PAD.”

“PAD is an extremely expensive disease,” Yost declared. “Inpatient hospitalizations account for the vast majority (60% to 85%) of the costs,” she added. “PAD-specific treatments are not the only factor driving up costs. Cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, and related treatments account for over 40% of hospitalization costs adding significantly to the burden, especially over time.”

Commenting on the relative costs of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients Yost continued, “It is not just patients suffering from intermittent claudication (IC) or critical limb ischemia (CLI) who require treatment. Asymptomatic patients are hospitalized at similar rates with an annual cost approximately equal to that of IC. However, it is heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events that increase costs in the asymptomatic,” she concluded.

“Since asymptomatic patients far exceed those with IC or CLI, this is extremely significant,” she declared. “Diagnosis and appropriate risk factor treatment would likely reduce the incidence and severity of cardiovascular events, therefore reducing total PAD costs.”

“Prevalence is a critical determinate of the economic impact of PAD,” explained Yost. “In order to compare different prevalence numbers, we recalculated them based on the 2010 U.S. population. Recalculating the most commonly quoted estimate of 8-12 million produces a range of 10.2-16.6 million. The upper end of which is not dissimilar to our estimate,” she noted.

Elaborating Ms. Yost continued, “Prevalence depends on the characteristics of the population studied; risk factors are one of the key variables. In the U.S. age and diabetes, two significant risk factors for PAD, have increased over the past 15 years. Consequently, PAD estimates based on the 1995-2000 population will not accurately reflect current demographics and will understate disease prevalence. For example, we estimate that in 1995 and 2000 PAD afflicted 11.3 million and 13.1 million respectively.”

THE SAGE GROUP, a research and consulting company, specializes in atherosclerotic disease in the lower limbs, specifically PAD (Peripheral Artery Disease), CLI (Critical Limb Ischemia), ALI (Acute Limb Ischemia) and PAD and diabetic foot ulcers (DFU).

For additional information visit www.thesagegroup.us.

SOURCE: THE SAGE GROUP

THE SAGE GROUP, Atlanta
Mary Yost, 404-520-6652
yost@thesagegroup.us