Cardiovascular disease costs UK 29 bln a year

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) Britain spends a higher percentage of its healthcare budget on cardiovascular disease than any other EU country, researchers said today.

The killer disease costs the UK 17.4 billion pounds a year, or 18 percent of its total healthcare spending.

When lost productivity and informal care by family members are included, the bill rises to 29.1 billion pounds.

''Our study is the first to systematically estimate the economic burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the UK,'' said Jose Leal, a health economist at Oxford University.

''We estimated the healthcare cost to total 17.4 billion pounds, which is around 18 per cent of UK health expenditure,'' he told Reuters.

Healthcare accounted for about 60 per cent of the total costs while lost productivity was around 23 per cent and informal care 17 per cent, according to the research published in the journal Heart.

The British Heart Foundation said the large amount was not surprising because 40 per cent of all deaths in Britain are from cardiovascular disease.

''This study should stimulate policy makers to reconsider public health measures to reduce the massive burden of cardiovascular disease in the UK,'' said Peter Weissberg, medical director of the foundation, in a statement.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading killer in Britain. High blood pressure, raised cholesterol levels, obesity and smoking are leading risk factors. People who survive a heart attack or stroke often need care and long-term medical treatment.

The research by Leal's team at the university's Health Economic Research Centre is based on all British residents diagnosed with cardiovascular disease in 2004. Costs include medication, emergency care, hospitalisations and community and social services.

The researchers did not look at why Britain spends a higher percentage of its total healthcare costs on cardiovascular disease than other countries. But Leal said different rates of the illness and the types and costs of medications could be the reasons.

The costs of treating heart disease and stroke are similar, according to the findings.

Hospital care, which amounted to 10 billion pounds, was the costliest component. Expenditure on drugs amounted to nearly 3 billion pounds a year.

The figures showed 69 million work days were lost to cardiovascular disease in 2004.

REUTERS SHB RK1505