New Data Finds 31% of Working Americans and Their Families have a Cardiac Disorder

Analysis of 15 Million Commercially Insured Members Highlights the State of Heart Health in America, Including Cardiac Disorder Prevalence, Comorbidities, and Regional Disparities

GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cedar Gate Technologies (Cedar Gate), a leading value-based care technology and services company, today released a critical analysis of heart health trends across the U.S., revealing that 31% of the workforce and their families suffer from a cardiac disorder or hypertension, a significant risk factor for such disorders. This data, derived from Cedar Gate’s National Healthcare Benchmark Database, analyzed claims data from July 2022 through June 2023 and represents approximately 15 million commercially insured individuals.

“This analysis highlights the pressing need for effective strategies to address cardiovascular health within the workforce,” said Dr. Eduardo Hernandez, President of CardioVascular Care Providers, President of The Texas Heart Institute Center for Cardiovascular Care, and a cardiovascular physician in Houston. “These findings are not just about statistics; they reflect the health burden faced by working-age individuals. Given the staggering percentage, employers, payers, and providers need to act with urgency to improve access to care and reduce the risks associated with cardiac disorders.”

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death across all age, racial, and ethnic groups, accounting for nearly 20% of annual deaths in the U.S. This health crisis imposes a staggering $252 billion annual cost, including healthcare expenses, medications, and lost productivity.

Key Insights on Workforce Heart Health

• Cardiac Disorder Prevalence: 31% (4.65 million) of individuals in the database have a cardiac disorder or hypertension, with 12.9% diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 4.9% with congestive heart failure (CHF).
• Economic Burden: The costliest cardiac disorders based on annual hospital admissions from Cedar Gate’s patient data include:
  • Myocardial infarction (heart attack): $752.7 million
  • CAD: $479.5 million
  • CHF: $469.1 million
  • Heart valve disorders: $334.9 million
  • Atrial fibrillation (AFib): $177.8 million
• Regional Disparities: Higher Area Deprivation Index (ADI) scores correlate with greater levels of CVD. Nationally, CVD patients have an ADI of 50, 6% higher than non-CVD patients (47). The disparity is greatest in the South, where CVD patients have an ADI of 58, compared to 53 for non-CVD patients—an 8.6% gap.
• Comorbidities: When evaluating the chronic conditions of the population with a cardiac disorder, nearly 79% of patients have hypertension, 51.6% have hyperlipidemia, and 24.7% have diabetes, emphasizing the complexity of managing these interconnected conditions.

An Opportunity to Act During American Heart Month

“By leveraging advanced analytics and prioritizing value-based care, we can identify individuals at high cardiovascular risk and match them with top-performing providers. This, coupled with the implementation of effective cost-saving strategies can drive improved health outcomes,” said Dr. Hernandez. “These insights are critical to the success of our cardiac centers of excellence, which emphasize proactive cardiovascular health management to enhance patient care and reduce healthcare costs. This represents a win-win for patients, providers, and payers.”

Cedar Gate’s National Benchmark database provides actionable insights for payers, providers, and self-funded employers to benchmark performance, understand population trends, and identify impactful ways to improve care and reduce cost. All data is anonymized and thoroughly de-identified to protect patient privacy.

February marks American Heart Month, an important time to emphasize the importance of using data-driven insights to combat heart disease. Cedar Gate’s findings highlight actionable opportunities for employers and healthcare providers to prioritize cardiovascular health within the workforce.

For more information about Cedar Gate Technologies and its value-based care solutions, visit https://www.cedargate.com/.

About Cedar Gate

Cedar Gate enables payers, providers, employers, and service administrators to excel at value-based care with a unified technology and services platform delivering analytics, care, and payment technology on a single data management foundation. From primary care attribution, to bundled payments, to capitation, Cedar Gate is improving clinical, financial, and operational outcomes for every payment model in all lines of business.