AHA argues funding cardiac research now could save billions later

A new assessment from the American Heart Association (AHA) questions whether investments in heart disease research benefits the overall costs of healthcare and patient needs.

In a statement published June 26, the AHA says the country only invests 2.5 cents per day per U.S. citizen for research to combat heart disease.

Currently, the largest funder of cardiovascular research is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but overall, funding is down 25 percent compared to 13 years ago. The AHA attributes the decline to changes in the purchasing power of research dollars.

“For the last decade, biological research has been under siege owing to tightening budgets at the taxpayer-funded National Institutes of Health and private funders,” said Joseph A. Hill, MD, PhD, chair of the statement’s writing committee, in a press release.

But declining funds could detrimentally affect Americans because it is estimated that by 2030, more than 40 percent of U.S. citizens will have heart failure or heart disease, which could cost more than $1 trillion.

Contributing funding to preventive research proved to be successful in saving money over time when the NIH funded the Women’s Health Initiative, which worked to reduce the number of cases of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease by 200,000 since 2003. The initiative cost $260 million but saved an estimated $37 billion in healthcare costs over time.

“Many people question the value of scientific research funded with taxpayer dollars, yet this research is essential to both our nation’s health and to our economy,” Hill said.