Burden of ischemic heart disease in Spain: incidence, hospital mortality and costs of hospital care

ABSTRACT

Background

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading global cause of death and is assumed to entail a significant social and economic burden globally. This study aimed to evaluate incidence and mortality trends of IHD in Spain and to estimate direct medical costs.

Methods

Admission files corresponding to patients with IHD registered between 2011 and 2019 were obtained from a Spanish hospital discharge database and analyzed in a retrospective study.

Results

Admission data corresponding to 814,740 patients with IHD was analyzed. The majority of patients were males, and about half of the hospitalizations were due to an acute myocardial infarction. Incidence decreased significantly in most age groups over time, while hospital mortality rate remained stable (4.4%). Additionally, mortality rate was significantly higher among females (6.6%). Median admission cost was €5175; the higher costs per admission were found in patients with an acute myocardial infarction and in admissions with an ICU stay. The annual cost of hospital care was €693.8 million.

Conclusions

Despite the decreasing trends described in the general population, hospital mortality rate was constant among hospitalized patients during the study period. The higher hospital mortality rate described among females should be considered in further studies and protocol revisions.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Direct medical costs
• hospital mortality
• incidence
• ischemic heart disease
• Spain

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contributions

J Darba contributed to the investigation by analyzing and interpreting the burden associated to ischemic heart disease in Spain and was a major contribution in the intellectual content revision. A Marsa analyzed the current situation of ischemic heart disease in Spain, interpreted the statistical data and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript to be published.

Data availability statement

Data sharing is restricted due to legal stipulations, yet the data that support the findings of this study is fully available from the Spanish Ministry of Health via the Unit of Health Care Information and Statistics (Spanish Institute of Health Information) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data at: https://www.mscbs.gob.es/estadEstudios/sanidadDatos/home.htm.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.