Heart Disease to Cost U.S $503 Billion in 2010
By JoAnne Allen, ABCNews.com/Health
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cardiovascular disease and stroke will cost the United States an estimated $503.2 billion in 2010, an increase of nearly 6 percent, and many cases could have been prevented, the American Heart Association said on Thursday.
The figure includes both health care costs and lost productivity due to death and disease, according to an update published online in the journal Circulation.
The heart association says obesity and other risk factors, like too little exercise and poor diet, are fueling the expected increase in health care costs associated with heart disease and stroke.