Heart failure (HF) is an important contributor to both the burden and cost of national healthcare expenditures, with more older Americans hospitalized for HF than for any other medical condition. With the aging of the population, the impact of HF is expected to increase substantially.

We estimated future costs of HF by adapting a methodology developed by the American Heart Association to project the epidemiology and future costs of HF from 2012 to 2030 without double counting the costs attributed to comorbid conditions. The model assumes that HF prevalence will remain constant by age, sex, and race/ethnicity and that rising costs and technological innovation will continue at the same rate. By 2030,> 8 million people in the United States (1 in every 33) will have HF. Between 2012 and 2030, real (2010 )totaldirectmedicalcostsofHFareprojectedtoincreasefrom 21 billion to 53billion.Totalcosts,includingindirectcostsforHF,areestimatedtoincreasefrom 31 billion in 2012 to 70billionin2030.IfoneassumesallcostsofcardiaccareforHFpatientsareattributabletoHF(nocostattributiontocomorbidconditions),the2030projectedcostestimatesoftreatingpatientswithHFwillbe3-foldhigher( 160 billion in direct costs).

The estimated prevalence and cost of care for HF will increase markedly because of aging of the population. Strategies to prevent HF and improve the efficiency of care are needed.