A study using United States insurance claims data looked at the real-world burden of pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2,712 treated adults between 2017 and 2024 (average age 62, 69% women). Over an average follow-up of just over two years:
- Costs were very high. Healthcare costs averaged about $302,000 per patient per year for those with private insurance, and about $200,000 for those on Medicare.
- Hospital stays were common. More than half of patients were hospitalised at least once, and 45% for reasons related to the disease. Almost a third were hospitalised for complications such as blood clots, bleeding or sepsis. Among patients hospitalised for the disease, the median time to the next hospital stay was just over a year. More than half of these stays required intensive care.
- Mortality remained significant. Among newly treated patients, about 10% died within one year of starting treatment, 19% within two years and 25% within three years.
The authors conclude that, despite recent advances in treatment, the disease still carries a heavy clinical and economic burden, and that this burden should continue to be monitored as new therapies arrive.
Read more at this link on Pulmonary Circulation
Citation
Ravichandran A, Beaudet A, Lopez D, Lew CR, Varker H, Jerry M, Muralidhar A. Contemporary Economic, Hospitalization, and Mortality Burden Among Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients: A Real-World US Claims Data Analysis. Pulm Circ. 2026 Oct 6;16(4):e70414. doi: 10.1002/pul2.70414. PMID: 42840966; PMCID: PMC13640061.