In hypertension, tolerability of drug treatment is important because individuals may see the use of antihypertensive medications as more troubling than their seemingly symptomless disease. This may result in noncompliance and ineffectual long term treatment. In the past 15 years, new...

Heart failure (HF) ranks among the most costly chronic diseases in developed countries. At present these countries devote 1-2% of all healthcare expenditures towards HF. In the US, these costs are estimated at $US30.2 billion for 2007. The burden of HF is greatest among the elderly, with 80% of...

Objective: To compare the direct healthcare costs of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) prescribed torasemide (torsemide) or furosemide (frusemide). Design and setting: As part of a prospective, randomised, nonblind study, we assessed the effects of torasemide and furosemide on...

Adverse drug events occur frequently and lead to a significant number of fatalities each year. It has been estimated that fatalities directly attributable to adverse drug reactions are the fourth to sixth leading cause of death in US hospitals, exceeding deaths caused by pneumonia and diabetes....

Objective: To develop a method of value analysis which would facilitate an objective comparison of available angiotensin II antagonists as antihypertensive agents, in order to provide an adaptable framework which would allow for future developments in new product introduction and changes in...

Objective: To compare the cost effectiveness of the angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) olmesartan medoxomil, losartan, valsartan and irbesartan for the treatment of hypertension, from the perspective of a US managed care setting. Methods: The evaluation was based on a recently completed,...

Reference pricing pharmaceuticals in New Zealand involves reimbursing drugs at the lowest price ruling in a given therapeutic subgroup, and has been argued to promote competition leading to equalised prices among similar drugs. Disappointment at the inability to contain public drug expenditures...

Economic analysis has been extensively used to guide the use of ACE inhibitors in chronic heart failure. More recently, it has been used to guide the use of ACE inhibitors after myocardial infarction. The results of major clinical trials leave us in no doubt that ACE inhibitors are useful in the...

Background: In the Ramipril Efficacy In Nephropathy (REIN) trial, ramipril significantly lowered the rate of reaching the combined end-point of doubling of baseline serum creatinine levels or end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Objective: To determine the additional cost per patient-year of chronic...