Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate long-term epidemiologic trends, healthcare utilization, treatment patterns, disease burden, and diagnosis-to-treatment pathways for major heart valve disease (HVD) in Korea using national claims data.
METHODS: This retrospective observational study utilized national health insurance claims data from 2014 to 2023. Patients with at least one confirmed diagnosis of HVD were identified using validated diagnosis codes. Analyses included patient distribution by disease, trends in healthcare utilization patterns including outpatient visits and hospitalizations, treatment patterns, medical costs, and time from diagnosis to treatment and disease burden. Descriptive statistics and annual trend analyses were conducted.
RESULTS: The HVD population increased steadily over time. Mitral regurgitation (MR) accounted for the largest proportion of patients (34.2%), followed by aortic regurgitation (21.9%) and aortic stenosis (AS) (19.9%); collectively, these conditions comprised 75.9% of the total HVD population. Healthcare utilization increased in parallel, with upward trends observed in both outpatient visits and hospitalizations. MR and AS accounted for the largest proportion of surgical procedures, representing 29.0% and 26.5% respectively. Transcatheter interventions were predominantly performed in AS (78.6%) and showed a consistent increase. AS demonstrated the highest annual growth in medical expenditures (16.8%) and was associated with 526 deaths (45.1% of HVD-related mortality) in 2023. Approximately 43-48% of treated patients experienced delays of more than 6 months from diagnosis to treatment, with the average time to intervention increasing from 2021 to 2023.
CONCLUSIONS: With a growing patient population, HVD in Korea is associated with increasing healthcare utilization and economic burden. AS appears to be a major driver of disease burden, with the highest cost growth and the greatest contribution to mortality. Prolonged delays from diagnosis to treatment highlight the need for earlier detection, more efficient referral pathways, and improved access to timely intervention. These findings highlight the importance of strategies to reduce treatment delays and optimize patient outcomes.