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HYPERTENSION
Epidemiology
Cost Burden
The financial burden of hypertension is
estimated at 37 billion each year, with antihypertensive medications
contributing approximately 15.5 billion per year.
Heart disease and stroke, the first and
third leading causes of death and disability, and for which hypertension is
a major risk factor, pose a financial burden of approximately $259 billion
in direct and indirect costs.
In one study,
An Economic Evaluation of the JNC Hypertension Guidelines Using Data from a
Randomized Controlled Trial,
the management of hypertension including drug therapy, monitoring for and
treating side effects, compliance, and the costs of switching after
therapeutic failures resulted in the following costs for initial treatment
and control of hypertension per patient (first year cost of therapy):
Chlorthalidone, $641
Acebutolol, $920
Amlodipine, $946
Enalapril, $948
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