Deans' stroke musings: Cost of 10 leading causes of death to US: $1.1 trillion

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cost of 10 leading causes of death to US: $1.1 trillion

6. Alzheimer’s disease Deaths: 83,308 Change since 2000: 50 percent increase in death rate Total cost: $70 billion As of 2011, an estimated 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. This number is projected to hit 13.2 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s is a very expensive disease with high direct medical costs, as well as lost productivity from patients and unpaid care given by the family and friends. This last category is not counted in government reports as part of the disease’s cost, but was estimated at more than $200 billion in 2010 for over 17 billion hours of unpaid care. As of 2004, total medical costs for Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s disease were three times the cost of similarly aged people without the disease. From 2005 to 2011, the total direct costs of Alzheimer’s disease increased from $91 billion to $183 billion, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. By 2050, this is projected to increase to $1.1 trillion (in 2011 dollars).

4. Strokes Deaths: 129,180 Change since 2000: 31 percent decrease in death rate Total cost: $34 billion While the total costs of all cardiovascular disease have declined slightly over the past decade, costs attributable to stroke have decreased an impressive inflation-adjusted 46 percent, according to data from the American Heart Association. Direct and indirect costs have both dropped significantly. These declines have been linked to increased awareness and treatment of major risk factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking, as well as to improvements in acute stroke care, which appears to decrease both death and long-term disability from stroke. Despite these improvements, stroke remains the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States.

2. Cancer Deaths: 573,855 Change since 2000: 7.5 percent decrease in death rate Total cost: $227 billion In the next five years, cancer is likely to become the number one killer of Americans, if current trends continue. Despite major advances in treatments and increases in the number of people who survive for five years or more, few true “cures” have been found. Real progress is being made, but there is still a long way to go. Direct costs of medical treatments will continue to rise, more than offsetting any gains due to decreased mortality rates. In 2004, direct medical costs to the U.S. economy were $69.4 billion. By 2007, costs were $104 billion, and by 2020, they are projected to range between $160 billion to $200 billion, according to the American Cancer Society. The vast majority of these increases in cost are driven by new medical treatments, usually highly tailored and difficult-to-manufacture drugs that cost $5,000/month on average. One such drug, Gleevec, increased five-year survival rates to 95 percent (from 70 percent) for one blood cancer and has been used to varying degrees of success in a different cancers since.

1. Heart disease Deaths: 595,444 Change since 2000: 25 percent decrease in death rate Total cost: $190 billion Heart disease remains the number one killer of Americans. But deaths due to the disease have been declining at a rapid rate over the past several decades, despite the ever-increasing issues of obesity and diabetes in America. The indirect costs of heart disease due to death have declined from an inflation-adjusted $114 billion in 2000 to $94.8 billion in 2008. Over the same time period, direct costs of medical interventions and care have decreased from an inflation adjusted $129 billion to $96 billion. These declining costs are likely due to major improvements in care. For example, in 2001, only 43 percent of heart disease patients were counseled on smoking cessation compared to 99 percent in 2010, according to the American Heart Association. Similarly, only 60 percent to 85 percent of patients were discharged from the hospital on all recommended medications in 2001, compared to 92 percent to 99 percent in 2010. Additionally, there was a decrease in the number of bypass surgeries, stent placements, angioplasties and diagnostic cardiac catheterizations between 2002 and 2009, likely contributing to the decrease in direct medical costs. Despite the recent trends, total costs are likely to rise over the next couple decades due to an aging population and increased rates of obesity and diabetes. (Source: MSNBC/24/7 Wall St)