Study Reveals the Costs of a Heart Attack - East Idaho News

Study Reveals the Costs of a Heart Attack

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GETTY H 082311 GuyHasHeartAttack?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1352176420141Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. If you’re lucky enough to survive a heart attack, then you know that your health is not the only thing that takes the hit. Heart attacks can hurt your finances and hinder your ability to work.
 
A study presented to the American Heart Association reveals more about the toll heart attacks and other coronary conditions take on our resources.

For the study, the researchers looked at 37,000 people from 2007 to 2010. Most were men, many younger than 65. They found that the cost of hospitalization and medication was $8,170 per person.
 
Patients lost an average of 60.2 workdays right after their heart attacks and — over the longer term — lost more than a year.
 
For employers, the disability costs were greater than the direct costs: $7,943 for short-term disability and $52,473 for long-term disability.
 
The study authors concluded that heart disease can impose devastating effects financially as well as in lost productivity — arguing for more prevention in the form of no smoking, weight loss, a healthful diet and proper drugs to control high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
 
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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