The health economics of the treatment of hyperlipidemia and hypertension.

In the current economic climate it is important to demonstrate that healthcare resources are being used efficiently. As a consequence, pharmacoeconomic analyses are invaluable for assessing the cost-effectiveness of new therapeutic strategies. A condition with recurrent morbid events that are costly to treat provides the greatest potential for cost savings. In contrast, there is less opportunity to redeem original treatment costs when a condition is associated with infrequent and inexpensive morbidity. Consequently, treatment strategies that have a rapid onset and substantial impact on disease progression are likely to be the most highly cost-effective forms of therapy. Elevated blood pressure in the elderly and established coronary heart disease (CHD) are both associated with high rates of costly cardiovascular events (eg, stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure). Clinical trials have shown that administration of blood-pressure-lowering agents to elderly hypertensives and the treatment of hypercholesterolemia with statins in the secondary prevention of CHD are highly effective strategies for reducing this morbidity. Pharmacoeconomic analyses of the data from these clinical trials now provide an additional assessment of their cost-effectiveness. The results of these analyses suggest that blood-pressure-lowering therapy for the elderly and the use of statins to control hypercholesterolemia in patients at high risk of CHD are extremely cost-effective, compared with many other routine medical interventions.