Heart conditions cost Greece €2.2 bln in 2021

Public health expenditure for the care of patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Greece amounted to €2.237 billion in 2021, according to a study by Oxford Population Health’s Health Economics Research Center presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Amsterdam in August.

This figure climbs to €4.3 billion if the cost from lost productivity and voluntary care provided by family members or friends are taken into account.

Greece is estimated to have spent €210 per resident on patient care for people with cardiovascular diseases, including strokes, corresponding to 14.2% of healthcare costs, in 2021.

At the same time, the cost of drugs for CVD patients was €829 million in Greece, compared to €384 million in the Czech Republic and €557 million in Portugal. The difference is believed to be related to overprescription or the limited use of generics in Greece.

“Although our country does not significantly fall short of the average European indicators in the cost of hospitalization, it falls short in terms of regions, since mainly in the islands and in some areas of the periphery, the services required to deal with acute heart problems are extremely limited,” Cardiology Professor and former president of the European Society of Cardiology, Panagiotis Vardas, told Kathimerini.