The number of patients treated for ischemic heart disease has increased 4.1% annually over the past five years to more than 940,000 people.
The total medical expenses for health insurance increased at a faster rate, reaching KRW 1.6511 trillion.
‘Ischemic heart disease’ refers to a disease caused by a lack of blood supply to the heart muscle due to narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.
The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) announced the status of health insurance treatment for ‘ischemic heart disease’ for the last five years (2015~2019).
According to NHIS, the annual total number of people treated for ischemic heart disease increased by 17.2% (138,000) from about 804,000 in 2015 to 942,000 in 2019. This is an annual increase of 4.1%.
By gender, the annual number of men rose 22.9% from 476,000 in 2015 to 585,000 in 2019, 2.6 times higher than the 8.9% increase in women.
The number of ischemic heart disease patients per 100,000 people also expanded by 15.1% from 1,592 in 2015 to 1,833 in 2019.
Moreover, the number of patients per 100,000 people by gender increased by 21.0% from 1,875 for men to 2,268, and 6.9% for women from 1,305 to 1,395.
When looking at the number of people treated with ischemic heart disease per 100,000 people by age group, the number of men in their 80s or older was the highest at 10,925.
Medical expenses for health insurance due to ischemic heart disease increased 49.2% (KRW 544.7 billion) over five years, from KRW 1.16 trillion in 2015 to KRW 1.6511 trillion in 2019. The average annual growth rate is 10.5%.
During this period, medical expenses for men’s health insurance rose 56.2% from KRW 725.9 billion to KRW 1.1338 trillion and 35.9% for women.
In 2019, medical expenses per person for ischemic heart disease was KRW 1.753 million, up 27.3% from KRW 1.377 million in 2015.
Compared to 2015, the rate of increase in medical expenses per person in 2019 was 27.1% for men and 24.8% for women, showing similar growth rates for each gender.
