Atrial Fibrillation: Health Leaders Issue Recommendations to Improve Management of this Common, Costly and Misunderstood Cardiovascular Disease
September 16, 2009 5:24 AM CT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Health Leaders Issue Recommendations to Improve Management of a Common, Costly and Misunderstood Cardiovascular Disease: Atrial Fibrillation
“AF Stat™ Call to Action for Atrial Fibrillation” Report Cites Limited Understanding, Disconnected Dialogue and Uncoordinated Care as Key Barriers to Improved Outcomes
Sept. 16, 2009 – WASHINGTON, D.C., A diverse collaboration of healthcare leaders today released the AF Stat Call to Action AF Stat™ Call to Action for Atrial Fibrillation to serve as a roadmap for reducing the burden of atrial fibrillation (AFib) in the United States. The document outlines critical issues surrounding the management of AFib, and recommends priority actions in the areas of policy, management, education and quality.
“For far too long, AFib has flown under the radar of many healthcare professionals, policymakers and the public,” said Senator Bill Frist, M.D., former Senate Majority Leader and health policy advisor for AF Stat. “AFib disproportionately affects Medicare patients, yet the disease’s impact on both individuals and our healthcare system has never been fully defined or prioritized.”
Characterized by an irregular and frequently fast heartbeat, AFib is the most common form of heart arrhythmia. It affects approximately 2.5 million Americans, and its prevalence is expected to increase as the U.S. population ages. AFib is associated with a five-fold increase in risk for stroke1 worsens underlying cardiovascular disease2; and doubles the risk of all-cause mortality3.
The disease is also expensive, costing the nation approximately $6.65 billion annually, much of which could be attributed to the increased hospital in-patient, emergency and medical services utilization rates for people with AFib4. A report released today by Avalere Health, Medicare and Atrial Fibrillation: Consequences in Cost and Care references research estimating that costs associated with AFib may be as high as $15.7 billion5 per year, further reinforcing the need to prioritize AFib.
The report describes the burden of AFib on Medicare, and offers strategies to enhance quality of care, improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs associated with the disease. The report was prepared and funded as an outcome of AF Stat, a first-of-its-kind, national initiative that aims to elevate understanding, diagnosis and management of AFib among all those affected by this serious and increasingly prevalent cardiovascular disease.
AF Stat™ Call to Action for Atrial Fibrillation Key Insights
The AF Stat Call to Action provides recommendations for four priority actions to reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation:
- Policy and Advocacy – Educate and inform key stakeholders about the health risks associated with AFib and the importance of comprehensive management.
- Education – Make tools available for all AFib stakeholders to facilitate greater understanding about its risks and the need for comprehensive early management, and to heighten awareness of the disease.
- Management – Achieve accurate diagnosis and comprehensive management across medical practices and between medical specialties.
- Quality – Define best practices in AFib management, align clinical practice guidelines and implement performance measures to improve patient outcomes.
“Historically, there has been a disappointing lack of urgency to change the status quo surrounding AFib,” said Eric Prystowsky, M.D., AF Stat Medical Chair and Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Laboratory, St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. “This Call to Action provides key public health directives that can motivate change and improve the understanding and management of AFib.”
To further help determine what actions to tackle first, AF Stat invites anyone affected by, or interested in AFib to go to www.AFStat.com to rank recommended priority actions.
About the “AF Stat™: A Call to Action for Atrial Fibrillation” report
The recommendations presented in the AF Stat Call to Action were compiled through interviews and meetings with members of AF Stat – a collaboration of 24 organizations and individuals representing the advocacy, medical, government, professional, aging, caregiver, employer, payer and cardiovascular sectors. Together, AF Stat aims to elevate understanding, diagnosis and management of AFib among all parties affected by the disease. AF Stat is sponsored by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC, which provided funding for this report.
About the Medicare and Atrial Fibrillation: Consequences in Cost and Care report
Medicare and Atrial Fibrillation: Consequences in Cost and Care was written by Avalere Health and funded by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC, which is the sponsor for AF Stat Avalere maintained editorial control and the conclusions expressed in the report are those of the author.
About AF Stat™
AF Stat is a collaboration of healthcare leaders and organizations working to improve the health and well-being of people affected by atrial fibrillation. AF Stat is raising awareness of AFib as a complex, costly, progressive and often debilitating disease. It also is calling for and helping promote a change in attitudes and behaviors to enhance AFib understanding, diagnosis and management. AF Stat is sponsored by sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC. More information can be found at www.AFStat.com.
Learn more about: AF Stat and the Out-of-Sync survey, and see profiles of afib patients Jerry West and Mellanie True Hills
1 Wolf PA, Abbott RD, Kannel, WB. Atrial fibrillation as an independent risk factor for stroke: the Framingham Study. Stroke. 1991;22;983-988.
2 Fuster V, Rydén LE, Cannom DS, et al. ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and the European Society of Cardiology Committee for Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 2001 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation): developed in collaboration with the European Heart Rhythm Association and the Heart Rhythm Society. Circulation. 2006;114:e257-e354.
3 Benjamin EJ, Wolf PA, D’Agostino RB, Silbershatz H, Kannel WB, Levy D. Impact of atrial fibrillation on the risk of death: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 1998;98:946-952.
4 Coyne KS, Paramore C, Grandy S, Mercader M, Reynolds MR, Zimetbaum P. Assessing the direct costs of treating nonvalvular atrial fibrillation in the United States. Value Health. 2006;9:348–356.
5 Lee W. Lamas G. Balu S., et al. “Direct treatment cost of atrial fibrillation in the elderly American population: a Medicare perspective.” Journal of Medical Economics 11 (2008): 281-298. $15.7 billion is calculated as follows: from a 5% Medicare sample size the study identifies patients with AF and non-AF. The difference in cost for these two populations is $14,199 more for the AF population compared to non-AF. Since this is a sample size, the costs need to be extrapolated to the full population. Therefore, $14,199 multiplied by the sample size of 55,260, multiplied by 20 to reflect 100% of the Medicare