Despite dramatic improvements in both diagnosis and therapy, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in the developed world. Worldwide more than $54 billion was spent on cardiac care therapeutics in 1999, with an expected 10% annual increase for the next 10 to 15 years. Furthermore, U.S. government statistics indicate that approximately $4 billion of unnecessary medical costs are spent each year on the assessment of non-cardiac cases in hospital emergency departments. As the population ages, this unnecessary expenditure is expected to double.

Because of these vast utilization costs, there is a move to use resources in the early diagnosis of disease risk that will allow for prevention, early intervention with therapeutics and lifestyle changes, and proactive disease management. The laboratory and imaging diagnostics industries will have substantial impact on the early selection of heart disease candidates.

On the in vitro diagnostics front, a menu of lipid tests, hypercoagulation factors, enzyme and protein markers, genetic markers, and even exposure to viral infections all contribute to the risk assessment initiative. The world cardiac rapid assay market is expected to achieve an average annual growth rate of 20% to 25% for the near future, driven by a host of new markers (ultra sensitive CRP, homocystein, plasminogen-activator inhibitors, s100 protein, p-selectin, soluble fibrin, glycogen phosphorylase-BB, thrombus precursor protein, and recently discovered genetic factors). In addition, the possible involvement of infectious agents in heart disease offers another opportunity for in vitro diagnostics.

Emerging in vivo testing, including imaging techniques such as ultrasound, MRI, PET, and CT, are now capable of uncovering plaque build up and heart function irregularities long before patients show clinical symptoms. The world market for functional cardiac imaging will see an annual average growth of 20% over the next 5 years.

Combining the information from biochemical markers, imaging, clinical parameters, ECG, and other parameters via information technology will enhance and help develop better intervention strategies. In the United States alone, cardiovascular telemedicine generated approximately $75 million in 2000.

Trends in the Early Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease examines these emerging markets and opportunities in-depth, including market size and potential. It contains a comprehensive listing of companies and organizations involved in the various market segments along with detailed company profiles of the largest and most important companies active in these market segments:

• cardiac in vitro diagnostics (coagulation, proteins, genes, lipids)
• proactive diagnostic imaging systems
• cardiac risk assessment information technology
• home cardiovascular monitoring systems

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