Trends in hospital treatment of ventricular arrhythmias among Medicare beneficiaries, 1985 to 1995.
BACKGROUND
Treatment options for patients with ventricular arrhythmias have undergone major changes in the last 2 decades. Trends in use of invasive procedures, clinical outcomes, and expenditures have not been well documented.


METHODS
We used administrative databases of Medicare beneficiaries from 1985 to 1995 to identify patients hospitalized with ventricular arrhythmias. We created a longitudinal patient profile by linking the index admission with all earlier and subsequent admissions and with death records.


RESULTS
Approximately 85,000 patients aged > or =65 years went to hospitals in the United States with ventricular arrhythmias each year, and about 20,000 lived to admission. From 1987 to 1995, the use of electrophysiology studies and implantable cardioverter defibrillators in patients who were hospitalized grew substantially, from 3% to 22% and from 1% to 13%, respectively. Hospital expenditures rose 8% per year, primarily because of the increased use of invasive procedures. Survival improved, particularly in the medium term, with 1-year survival rates increasing between 1987 and 1994 from 52.9% to 58.3%, or half a percentage point each year.


CONCLUSIONS
Survival of patients who sustain a ventricular arrhythmia is poor, but improving. For patients who are admitted, more intensive treatment has been accompanied by increased hospital expenditures.
McDonald
Kathryn M
KM
Health Research and Policy, and the Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif, USA. kathy.mcdonald@stanford.edu
Hlatky
Mark A
MA
Saynina
Olga
O
Geppert
Jeffrey
J
Garber
Alan M
AM
McClellan
Mark B
MB
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019992:Databases as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007345:Insurance Claim Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010359:Patient Readmission; D016019:Survival Analysis; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*