Heart failure management: potential for huge cost savings

A session at this year's European Society of Cardiology Congress [Stockholm, Sweden; September 2001] was dedicated to the cost effectiveness of managing heart failure (HF). UK researchers estimate that HF cost the UK National Health Service (NHS) £1855 million last year, representing 4.2% of the total NHS budget. Furthermore, implementation of a specialist nurse management programme in the UK would decrease rehospitalisation for HF, potentially saving the NHS £20.6 million per year. And finally, the direct costs of severe HF amount to over $US50 billion annually in the US, and investigators predict savings of more than $US2 billion per year if new therapies reducing morbidity and mortality are developed.