Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible and progressive disorder of the brain that destroys memory and thinking skills of a person. It is said to cause dementia. It was rated the sixth cause of death in the United States but has since risen to third place just after the heart disease, Alzheimer’s is mostly detected in the elderly people of years ranging from sixty years when it occurs in early stages of a person’s life it doesn’t start earlier than thirty years of age. Heart disease has a wide range of conditions that affect the heart. Some develop as an individual ages while some of these conditions the patients are born with and it affects people of all gender but males are often reported to be more exposed. Complications of the heart may include heart failure, heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, peripheral artery disease and sudden cardiac arrest. Recent findings have also indicated that diabetes is also a rising cause in heart disease. (Mayo Clinic,2014). End stage renal disease (ESRD) is the last stage of chronic kidney disease (the fifth stage of chronic kidney disease). Any kidney disorders that develop at the end stage of kidney renal disease, a kidney transplant or dialysis is important in order to ensure survival of the patient. (DaVita, 2017). Diabetes is a lifelong condition caused by an imbalance in the levels of sugar in the blood. There are two types of diabetes: one is caused when the body does not produce insulin or the body does not respond correctly to insulin hormone to regulate blood sugar and the other type is caused when the cells produced destroy the insulin and prevent sugar levels from being regulated. This causes rise in the blood sugar levels which causes damage to eyes, skin complications, heart problems, mental health, hearing loss, gum disease among other complications.
Alzheimer’s cost of treatment ranges up to at least $290,000 in the past five years, which according to survey, is exclusive of the caregivers who are paid at least $260 billion annually to care for these patients. This also includes the cost of a private room for isolated cases which is estimated to be at $82, 000 a year. Treatment of heart disease has costs starting immediately as from calling the ambulance, diagnostic charges, hospital charges and even the surgical operational charges on the patient. After the phase of treatment, expenses also arise while acquiring the relevant drugs, recuperating while in hospital, regular testing and checkups and even doctor consultation appointments. This was estimated to cost at least $444 billion dollars annually for the treatment of heart disease conditions. Putting into consideration that only a very small number of patients are diagnosed with ESRD, the treatment by dialysis ranges to about $90,000 per year whereas treatment by transplant was estimated to about $33,000 per year after transplant which costs almost $100,000. Cost of treating diabetes is estimated at $85,000 annually with low cost of productivity as diabetes patients are unable to work as they used to (Busko,2013).
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All the above mentioned medical conditions are very expensive to treat and maintain treatment as most of these diseases are permanent conditions. However, heart disease conditions take number one leading spot at being very costly to treat. From the various medical tests and treatment procedures, it can be established that it’s the most expensive medical condition in the United States. Most heart conditions are treated through surgical operations that require very complex procedures with very few cardiologists spread out throughout the world, who have to be paid large amounts of money for each surgery that they perform. Patients are often requested to travel to specific cardiac centers to get exclusive treatment and have to set appointments in advance due to the high demand for treatment by citizens. It is closely followed by Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and the least expensive being ESRD.
The budget should allocate a lot of funds toward treating patients suffering from both mild and severe heart conditions, but focus should mainly be on patients who are in urgent need for surgery. The rest of the diseases can easily be treated by pure medication and since they mostly occur during the old age stage of life, they rarely affect the young ones and the youth as compared to heart conditions. Funding should also come from charitable organizations and foundations to help in lowering the cost of treatments for this patients. Grants should also be provided by those willing in order to offer support to those affected. Charity events such as heart runs and other social events should aim to raise funds to help treat those with these diseases with heart disease conditions being given the first priority.
Heart disease has no age bracket as even the infants are born with heart conditions and others may develop as people grow up, although old age is contributing factor to those that are aging as their body organs no longer function the same. This does not favor any group or category of patients, it treats both affected, male and female, both the young and the old unlike diseases such as Alzheimer’s which is only associated with people in their old age. It favors both the employed and the unemployed group as it will help those that are unable to afford the resources needed for the various treatments, this is where the funds raised and grants are used to help without discrimination moneywise.
References
Busko, M. (2013). Lifetime Cost of Treating Diabetes in US: Around $85,000. Med Scape. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/809547
DaVita. (2017). Kidney Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.davita.com/kidney-disease/kidney-failure/esrd
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2015). Heart Disease Symptoms and Basics. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/basics/symptoms/con-20034056
