EPIDEMIOLOGY, CLINICAL BURDEN AND INFLAMMATORY MARKER TESTING IN ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND SYMPTOMATIC HEART FAILURE IN GERMANY: INSIGHTS FROM THE ACHILLES CLAIMS DATA ANALYSIS
Author(s)
Nils Picker1, Jenny Noack, MSc1, Lisa Seitz, Dipl.-Ges.-Ök.2, Ulf Maywald, PharmD, MPH3, Patrick M. Siegel, PD Dr.4, Dennis Wolf, Prof. Dr. med.4.
1GIPAM GmbH, Wismar, Germany, 2Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH, Mainz, Germany, 3payers gmbh, Hamburg, Germany, 4Cardiology and Angiology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
1GIPAM GmbH, Wismar, Germany, 2Novo Nordisk Pharma GmbH, Mainz, Germany, 3payers gmbh, Hamburg, Germany, 4Cardiology and Angiology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular (CV) inflammation is an important risk factor in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and symptomatic heart failure (HF). However, real-world data on disease burden and patterns of inflammatory marker testing remains limited. This study evaluated these outcomes using a large claims database in Germany.
METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study used anonymized claims data provided by GWQ ServicePlus, including approximately 7.8 million individuals between 2020 and 2024. Adults with incident ASCVD or symptomatic left-ventricular HF were identified using ICD-10-GM coding algorithms following a 24-month diagnosis-free baseline period. Outcomes included annual incidence rates, all-cause mortality, CV-related hospitalizations (based on main diagnosis), and CRP testing patterns as a proxy for inflammatory assessment in routine care. Incidence rates were standardized and reported per 100,000 individuals. Time-to-event outcomes were assessed using Kaplan-Meier analyses.
RESULTS: A total of 173,327 ASCVD and 121,208 symptomatic HF patients were identified. In 2023, age- and sex-adjusted annual incidence per 100,000 individuals were 779 for ASCVD and 668 for symptomatic HF. Overall mortality in the ASCVD cohort was 3.8%, and 43.4% in symptomatic HF patients. Estimated cumulative risks of CV-related hospitalization at 12 and 24 months were 28.6% and 33.6% in ASCVD patients, and 35.5% and 44.3% in symptomatic HF patients, respectively. CRP testing during the first and second year following the initial diagnosis was observed in 39.5% and 24.4% of ASCVD patients and 40.6% and 22.9% of symptomatic HF patients, respectively. Mean testing frequencies were 0.7 and 1.0 CRP tests per person-year in the ASCVD and HF cohorts.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ASCVD and symptomatic HF in Germany experience a substantial clinical burden characterized by high mortality and frequent rehospitalizations. High rates of inflammatory marker testing are likely to reflect both increasing clinical awareness of CV inflammation and the vulnerability of ASCVD and HF populations to infections.
METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study used anonymized claims data provided by GWQ ServicePlus, including approximately 7.8 million individuals between 2020 and 2024. Adults with incident ASCVD or symptomatic left-ventricular HF were identified using ICD-10-GM coding algorithms following a 24-month diagnosis-free baseline period. Outcomes included annual incidence rates, all-cause mortality, CV-related hospitalizations (based on main diagnosis), and CRP testing patterns as a proxy for inflammatory assessment in routine care. Incidence rates were standardized and reported per 100,000 individuals. Time-to-event outcomes were assessed using Kaplan-Meier analyses.
RESULTS: A total of 173,327 ASCVD and 121,208 symptomatic HF patients were identified. In 2023, age- and sex-adjusted annual incidence per 100,000 individuals were 779 for ASCVD and 668 for symptomatic HF. Overall mortality in the ASCVD cohort was 3.8%, and 43.4% in symptomatic HF patients. Estimated cumulative risks of CV-related hospitalization at 12 and 24 months were 28.6% and 33.6% in ASCVD patients, and 35.5% and 44.3% in symptomatic HF patients, respectively. CRP testing during the first and second year following the initial diagnosis was observed in 39.5% and 24.4% of ASCVD patients and 40.6% and 22.9% of symptomatic HF patients, respectively. Mean testing frequencies were 0.7 and 1.0 CRP tests per person-year in the ASCVD and HF cohorts.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ASCVD and symptomatic HF in Germany experience a substantial clinical burden characterized by high mortality and frequent rehospitalizations. High rates of inflammatory marker testing are likely to reflect both increasing clinical awareness of CV inflammation and the vulnerability of ASCVD and HF populations to infections.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
EPH4
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health
Disease
Cardiovascular Disorders (including MI, Stroke, Circulatory)