Hospitalization costs are higher for heart failure (HF) patients with ejection fractions below or above 40%, but the factors contributing to these costs vary widely across the ejection fraction spectrum.

The data, presented at the American College of Cardiology 2024 (ACC.24) Annual Scientific Sessions, cites the importance of heart failure drugs that reduce all-cause hospitalizations and heart failure hospitalizations to offset rising health care costs.¹

“I think we’re very concerned about difficult outcomes like hospitalization and death, but in heart failure, even quality of life gets worse,” said Velaprapas-Kitipibul, M.D., a cardiologist and researcher at Duke University Medical Center. It’s becoming important,” he said. HCPLive interview. “But we can’t forget the costs involved.” [heart failure]”

The analysis was conducted among Medicare beneficiaries from the Get With the Guidelines-HF Registry, a large contemporary U.S. registry, who were hospitalized for heart failure from 2016 to 2018. Kittipibul et al. evaluated mean total and cause-specific unadjusted Medicare costs per patient. After discharge he will be paid over 12 months (parts A and B).^1,2

Patients who received a heart transplant or left ventricular assist device (LVAD) were excluded from the analysis. For their analysis, Kittipibul and colleagues compared payments across a range of ejection fractions. Of the 87,427 patients included in this analysis, 31,032 (35%) had an ejection fraction ≤40%, whereas 56,395 (65%) had an EF >40% .¹

The researchers found that patients with EF ≤40% had higher 12-month mortality (38.1% vs. 33.6%; P <.01) 対 EF >40% group. However, total costs and all-cause hospitalization costs were higher among both EF groups (total costs: $40,865 vs. $39,196; all-cause hospitalization: $23,922 vs. $22,059), with all-cause hospitalizations being the most costly.¹

Additionally, the analysis found that patients with EF ≤40% had lower costs for hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease ($13,539 vs. $9,229) and heart failure ($8,194 vs. $4,979) compared to patients with EF >40. Although higher, costs in skilled nursing facilities were shown to be lower ($3,635 vs. $4,606). %.¹

In an interview with HCPLive at ACC.24, Kitty Pibble discusses key takeaways from the data and how it demonstrates the importance of implementation science to reduce heart failure-related hospitalizations. did.

Kitty Pibble has no relevant disclosures to report.

References:

1. Kittipibul V, Vaduganathan MV, Fonarow GC, Total and cause-specific medical costs after hospitalization for heart failure with reduced versus mildly reduced/maintained ejection fraction. Presentation location: American College of Cardiology (ACC.24) Annual Scientific Sessions. April 6-8, 2024, Atlanta, Georgia.
2. American Heart Association. Get the Guidelines® – Heart Failure Registry Tool. www.heart.org. December 12, 2023. Accessed April 7, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/professional/quality-improvement/get-with-the-guidelines/get-with-the-guidelines-heart-failure/get -guidelines using the hf registry tool.