Long Term Cost-Effectiveness of a Systolic Blood Pressure Goal of

Abstract

ObjectivesTo determine the cost-effectiveness of intensive blood pressure (BP) treatment in patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) over their lifetime in Saudi Arabia. MethodsA Markov model was developed for the BP strategies to estimate the added lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained. These 2 items were then used to develop an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Event rates were estimated from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial, and the other model inputs were retrieved from previous studies. Estimated costs were collected from 5 private hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The model used a lifetime framework adopting healthcare payer in Saudi Arabia. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using 1-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis to evaluate the robustness and uncertainty of the estimates. ResultsOver a 30-year period, intensive BP therapy would be cost-effective compared with the standard treatment with incremental costs per QALY, in US dollars, of $24 056. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested intensive BP treatment would be cost-effective compared with standard treatment 86.7% of the time at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $$60 000 per QALY. ConclusionThe result of this study showed that intensive BP treatment appears to be a cost-effective choice for patients with a high risk of CVD in Saudi Arabia when compared with standard treatment.