The economic impact of a heart attack and other forms of acute coronary syndrome goes beyond the hospital to the home and workplace, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012.
Men and women with acute coronary syndrome face additional economic burdens in lost time and income from work and possible inability to return to work, researchers said.
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an umbrella term for situations in which blood supplied to the heart muscle is suddenly blocked. It includes heart attack and angina or chest pain.
Using data from Integrated Benefits Institutes' Health and Productivity Benchmarking Databases and IMS Lifelink, researchers analyzed medical, pharmacy and short- and long-term disability claims to calculate direct and indirect costs for more than 37,000 employees and their dependents from 2007 to 2010. Of the total, 77 percent were men and 95 percent were younger than 65.
They found: