Cardiovascular disease costs the United States over $444 billion annually and is the leading cause of death. The document examines the extent of heart disease, its leading causes, and the most effective methods for reversing trends. It finds that Americans consume unhealthy levels of fat and sodium primarily from processed foods. While healthcare initiatives have short-term effects, taxing unhealthy ingredients in processed foods may help reduce consumption and costs of cardiovascular disease over the long run.

1. The Cost of
Cardiovascular Disease
By
Alec Mosier

2. Abstract
 Introduction to Cardiovascular Disease in America
 Methods of Research
 Results
 Task One: Determine The Full Extent of Heart Disease in America
 Task Two: Determine the leading causes of Heart Disease in America
 Task Three: Determine the most effective method to reverse the growing rates of Heart Disease in America
 Conclusions
 Recommendations
 References

3. Introduction
The Financial Cost of Cardiovascular Disease
 Cardiovascular disease cost $444 billion dollars in medical expenses, in 2010
alone (R. Morgan Griffin, 2010)
 Cardiovascular disease accounts for 17% of American medical Expenditures
each year (Paul A. Heidenreich, MD, 2011)
 The American Heart Association predicts the cost of cardiovascular treatment
will more than double in the next 20 years.

4. Introduction
The Cost in Lives Lost
 Heat Disease robbed 596,577 Americans of their lives in 2011 according to a
survey conducted by Donna L. Hoyert, Ph.D., and Jiaquan Xu, M.D
 Cardiovascular disease recently passed Cigarettes as the largest killer of
Americans per year.
 Rates of Cardiovascular disease requiring medical attention have skyrocketed
in the last few decades.

5. Methods
 Task One: Determine The Full Extent of Heart Disease in America
 Task Two: Determine the leading causes of Heart Disease in America
 Task Three: Determine the most effective method to reverse the growing
rates of Heart Disease in America

6. Task One: Determine The Full Extent of Heart
Disease in America
Deaths By Major Causes, U.S., 2010
31.9
8.9
58.8
CVD Lung Disease Other
 Cardiovascular disease accounts for 31.9%
of annual American deaths
 Cardiovascular Disease accounts for 17% of
annual American Health Expenditures
 Both Financial and Mortal Costs are only
expected to continue rising.

7. Task Two: Determine the leading causes of Heart
Disease in America
 The American Diet
 The Food and Drink Federation (2014) lists as part of a healthy 2000 calorie diet,
360 calories of sugar, 630 calories of fat, and 2300 mg of sodium.
 Americans daily intake an average of 335 calories of sugar, 837 calories from fat
and 3,436 mg of sodium
 American Exercise
 A 1995 report by the lists the percentage of those reporting no physical activity in
leisure time at 18.9 % among males 18-29 and 25% among females of the same age
group
 The percentage of those with sedentary free time has dropped over the past ten
years

8. Task Three: Determine the most effective method to reverse
the growing rates of Heart Disease in America
 Option One: Fund Health Care initiatives throughout the Country to encourage
Exercise
 Option Two: Enact Legislation to Tax added quantities of Fats and Sodium
Food manufacturers insert into processed food.

9. Conclusions
 Relatively little correlation between rising rates of Heart Disease and Average
Physical activity
 Americans are eating Dangerous Levels of Fat and Sodium
 The majority of Fat and Sodium comes from Restaurant and Packaged food,
not food made at home
 Health Care initiatives have only short term effects on behavior

10. Recomendations
 Health Care Initiatives cost money and have little long term Effects
 A tax will help pay for any administrative costs required to enforce it
 Will disincentivize the purchase and manufacture of unhealthy foods

11. References
Heart Disease: The Cost of Medical Bills and Disability (WebMD)
By: R. Griffon
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/heart-disease-medical-costs
Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2011
By: Donna L. Hoyert, Ph.D., and Jiaquan Xu, M.D., Division of Vital Statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_06.pdf
How Is Heart Disease Treated? (- NHLBI, NIH)
By: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hdw/treatment.html
The Salt Myth - How Much Sodium Should You Eat Per Day?
By Kris Gunnars
http://authoritynutrition.com/how-much-sodium-per-day/
Five key nutrients: Calories, Sugar, Fat, Saturated Fat and Salt
By Food and Drink Federation
http://www.gdalabel.org.uk/gda/gdalabel/nutrients.aspx
Forecasting the Future of Cardiovascular Disease in the United States
By American Heart Association
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/123/8/933.long