The Canadian Heart Health Strategy: Risk Factors and Future Cost Implications

The Canadian Heart Health Strategy and Action Plan (CHHS-AP), Building a Heart Healthy Canada, seeks to reduce the growing disease and cost burdens of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Canada. The CHHS-AP contracted the Conference Board to investigate the potential impact on future national health expenditures if a reduction in risk factors was achieved. This report presents the approach, methodology, and final results of the work.

The forecast looked at five risk factors: lack of physical activity, smoking, obesity, hypertension, and consumption of fruit and vegetables. The analysis was anchored in a detailed population forecast for Canada and compared two forecast scenarios.

The analysis found that achieving the CHHS-AP risk factor targets will lead to a substantial reduction in CVD-related illnesses and cost savings for the health system, governments, and Canadian economy—it suggests a cumulative cost savings of about $5 billion per year, with significantly larger savings if the forecast is extended beyond 2020.