Topic/Category: Cardiovascular Procedures

While the world has been focused on the devastating impact of COVID-19, cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death and disability in the developed world. In the United States alone, while 345,323 people died from COVID in 2020, 690,882 — twice as many — died from heart disease. Moreover, statistics show that cardiovascular disease is a significant comorbidity when it comes to hospitalization and death from COVID-19, meaning widespread heart disease also worsens health outcomes related to the pandemic.

Despite these devastating impacts, COVID-19 continues to exert a negative influence on the $58.2 billion cardiovascular market segment due to the fact that cardiovascular procedures are often elective or expedited (See Medtech Pro Market Summary Projection). The result has been a substantial reduction in the dollars spent on these procedures. According to the Medtech Pro COVID-19 Impact Tracker, from 2019 through 2020, global revenues from cardiovascular procedures dropped an astounding 8.4%.

This drop in revenues in the cardiovascular market segment is evident in all major categories. This even includes those that require shorter hospital stays for stents and other minimally-invasive procedures. The January 2021 update of the Medtech Pro Covid Impact Tracker showed that global spending on transcatheter technologies dropped from $33.7 million in 2019 to $31.1 million in 2020. Overall, global spending on cardiovascular technologies dropped from $53.8 million in 2019 to $49.3 million in 2020. Of course, “elective” cardiovascular procedures can’t be postponed indefinitely. As people began to get vaccinated, live with COVID, and feel the pandemic was beginning to recede, growth resumed in 2021, surpassing 2019 values with $54.5 million in spending.

The Impact of Omicron on Short-Term Growth

The year 2021 showed a rebound in the number of procedures performed, largely due to pent-up demand (See Medtech Pro Procedure Volumes Tracker market data). However, the emergence of new COVID variants threatens to slow growth, at least in the near term, possibly delaying a return to long-term trends. While Omicron is believed to be less virulent than previous variants, its rapid spread and high caseload may mean more hospitalizations and staff shortages due to sick medical personnel taking time off. This will once again force many facilities to delay elective procedures, including cardiovascular surgeries and interventions. The impact of Omicron may be short-term and not extend past the first quarter of 2022, but the future of COVID remains uncertain, and new variants may continue to arise.

Cardiothoracic Surgeries and International Cardiology Procedures Across Market Segments

LSI Medtech Pro tracks surgical procedure volumes across 37 countries and 12 major surgical markets (Neuro, OB/GYN), including Cardiothoracic surgeries and International Cardiology Procedures. Data shows that in all 37 countries tracked, the volume of procedures performed dropped substantially in 2020. The United States alone saw an 18% drop in cardiovascular procedures. Similar declines occurred in China, Canada, and most European countries.

While the impact of Omicron on procedures in 2022 is yet to be known and most countries continue to struggle with the effects of COVID-19, 2021 saw substantial increases in most markets. In the United States, the number of cardiovascular procedures performed snapped back to an impressive 4.41 million, compared to 3.9 million in 2019. Despite the continued uncertainty surrounding Covid, this number is expected to return to baseline over the next five years.

This appears to be a general trend among developed countries. Medtech Pro data show CAGR 2019-2026 stagnating in the US at far less than 1%, and only growing between 1-2.5% in most European markets (See Medtech Pro Cardiovascular Market reports for more on the latest market data forecasted through 2025).

However, rising standards of living and aging populations in developing countries bode well for the global market as a whole. The volume of procedures in China is expected to grow 15.66% over 2019-2026.

Strong Growth in the Transcatheter Category

As physicians continue to opt for less invasive medical procedures, continued growth in the transcatheter market is expected to be strong. One market segment experiencing a massive increase in growth is in use of transcatheter aortic heart valve devices.

LSI’s Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve Devices Market Snapshot shows that sales volumes for transcatheter aortic heart valve devices increased an astounding 34.2% in 2021. Growth is expected to remain strong, settling down to 8.4% by 2025. CAGR 2020-25 is expected to be 14.2% for sales and 8.4% for procedure volume.

The transcatheter aortic heart valve devices market is dominated by two companies. In 2020, Edwards Life Sciences had a 66.4% share, while Medtronic controlled 31.4% of the market. However, seemingly every day new emerging Medtech companies are breaking into the market in an effort to capture some of that share. The 3^rd annual LSI USA ’22 Emerging Medtech Summit, March 15-18^th, will be host to more than 150 of these presenting companies, many of which are looking to make an impact on the cardiovascular market. As the industry catches up on elective procedures and more innovative startups penetrate the market, there’s no doubt that Transcatheter growth will be strong. 

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