According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, greater health care expenditure supported by robust economic growth will lead to nearly 13 percent annual growth in the market for pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices in China, nearly doubling from a 2009 total of under $330 million to USD 650 million in 2015.

While an aging population, increased risk factors for cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure and general economic growth contribute, a large part of the increased consumption will be driven by increased health care coverage in China. The Chinese government has committed to investing over $100 billion in health care with the goal of providing coverage to 90 percent of the population by 2011. This increased health care spending provides greater funding for procedures, though actual reimbursement varies regionally.

“China has by far the largest market size among the large developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China,” said MRG analyst Lauren Parker. “Cardiac procedures are growing rapidly. Reimbursement isn’t full across the country, but patients are more able to pay out-of-pocket now than they were a decade ago. This combination of public and private ability to spend on healthcare has led to a large market and a strong growth rate, particularly for more sophisticated devices like dual-chamber ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). The market for CRT-Ds is forecast to grow at an annual rate of over 24 percent between now and 2015.”