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Based on direct costs alone, stroke is among the most expensive illnesses in the USA.
Direct costs may be expected to rise with:
- Increasing annual stroke rates
- Increased use of available treatment options
- Inflation
Indirect costs, a more controversial concept, reflect the drain on society's productivity and resources beyond
direct medical care.
According to American Heart Association estimates, the USA will have spent more than $51.2 billion on stroke-related
costs in 2003, mainly direct costs of medical care, including those of physicians and nurses, hospital stays, nursing
home or transitional care units, pharmaceuticals and rehabilitation, and have risen considerably in recent years.
Indirect costs related to the lost productivity of the stroke victims or their carers are more difficult to define
and quantify.
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| Total (USA, 2003): 51.2 Billion Dollar |
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| Direct costs |
31.0 |
Indirect |
20.2 |
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Hospital |
12.6 |
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Unemployment/ |
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Nursing home |
12.1 |
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Morbidity |
5.9 |
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Physicans |
2.5 |
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Unemployment/ |
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Medication |
0.9 |
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Mortality |
14.3 |
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Home health care |
2.9 |
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Reference:
American Heart Association. 2003 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update. |
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© 2005 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Germany. All rights reserved.
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