Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Mar;90(3):286-92.
doi: 10.1136/hrt.2002.008748.

Cost of an emerging epidemic: an economic analysis of atrial fibrillation in the UK

S Stewart  1 , N F Murphy, A Walker, A McGuire, J J V McMurray
Affiliations

Cost of an emerging epidemic: an economic analysis of atrial fibrillation in the UK

S Stewart et al. Heart. 2004 Mar.

Erratum in

  • Heart. 2007 Nov;93(11):1472. Murphy, N [corrected to Murphy, N F]

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the cost of atrial fibrillation (AF) to health and social services in the UK in 1995 and, based on epidemiological trends, to project this estimate to 2000. DESIGN, SETTING, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Contemporary estimates of health care activity related to AF were applied to the whole population of the UK on an age and sex specific basis for the year 1995. The activities considered (and costs calculated) were hospital admissions, outpatient consultations, general practice consultations, and drug treatment (including the cost of monitoring anticoagulant treatment). By adjusting for the progressive aging of the British population and related increases in hospital admissions, the cost of AF was also projected to the year 2000.

Results: There were 534 000 people with AF in the UK during 1995. The "direct" cost of health care for these patients was 244 million pounds sterling (approximately 350 million euros) or 0.62% of total National Health Service (NHS) expenditure. Hospitalisations and drug prescriptions accounted for 50% and 20% of this expenditure, respectively. Long term nursing home care after hospital admission cost an additional 46.4 million pounds sterling (approximately 66 million euros). The direct cost of AF rose to 459 million pounds sterling (approximately 655 million euros) in 2000, equivalent to 0.97% of total NHS expenditure based on 1995 figures. Nursing home costs rose to 111 million pounds sterling (approximately 160 million euros).

Conclusions: AF is an extremely costly public health problem.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Profile of hospitalisations associated with a principal diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in 1995 and subsequent outcomes. AMI, acute myocardial infarction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Components of health care expenditure related to atrial fibrillation in the UK in 1995 (excluding secondary admissions and long term nursing home care. GP, general practitioner; OPD, outpatient department.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the projected burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the UK in 1995 versus 2000. m, millions. *Total cost if nursing home care and secondary admissions included.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Summary of one way sensitivity analyses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ezekowitz MD. Atrial fibrillation: the epidemic of the new millennium. Ann Intern Med 1999;131:537–8. - PubMed
    1. Ryder KM, Benjamin EJ. Epidemiology and significance of atrial fibrillation. Am J Cardiol 1998;84:131R–8R. - PubMed
    1. Sudlow M, Thomson R, Thwaites B, et al. Prevalence of atrial fibrillation and eligibility for anticoagulants in the community. Lancet 1998;352:1167–71. - PubMed
    1. Majeed A, Moser K, Carroll K. Trends in the prevalence and management of atrial fibrillation in general practice in England and Wales, 1994–1998: analysis of data from the general practice research database. Heart 2001;86:284–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butler RN. Population aging and health. BMJ 1997;315:1082–4. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms