Cardio Diagnostics Holdings, Inc. announced that the company?s new HeartRisk proprietary data intelligence platform will be made available to employers who offer the Company?s innovative cardiovascular disease clinical tests as a health benefit to their employees. HeartRisk, a leading platform that combines insights from HIPAA-compliant anonymized and aggregated clinical cardiovascular risk data with industry and geographic data, aims to help employers understand the cardiovascular risks in their workforce compared to population and industry benchmarks. Employers, benefits brokers, as well as potentially third-party administrators and health plan care managers in the future can access actionable insights related to risks associated with cardiovascular disease, such as the amount of stop-loss insurance to carry based on the degree of CVD risk in the relevant population or selections of appropriate chronic care management partners.

Ultimately, stakeholders will leverage the insights from HeartRisk to make more data-driven decisions on the right suite of benefits, the proper allocation of resources, enhance employee retention rates, and take proactive measures to mitigate the profound impact of cardiovascular disease on productivity and healthcare expenditures. Employer Healthcare Costs Are Soaring: Chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, significantly impact healthcare costs for employers. Innovative employers and their broker partners interested in managing the implications of these growing costs related to cardiovascular disease are already looking for ways to adapt to this new reality.

Cardio Diagnostics' Epi+Gen CHD and PrecisionCHD tests address coronary heart disease, which is the most common type of heart disease, in a way that realizes value for employers on a shorter time horizon and with the goal of realizing such value prior to the manifestation of the acute impact of coronary heart disease on workforce productivity and employer healthcare costs. Epi+Gen CHD and PrecisionCHD evaluate objective epigenetic and genetic biomarkers from a patient's blood sample and utilize a proprietary AI algorithm to assess the risk for a heart attack and aid in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease, respectively. These highly sensitive tests, which only require a simple blood draw, can be deployed remotely for offsite employees, in a provider setting or onsite via a mobile clinic; this creates the flexibility to reach more eligible employees and drives a higher benefits utilization rate.

The Company?s most recent heart disease fair for an employer organization gained participation from 75% of eligible employees and their spouses. Enhanced Risk Mitigation for Innovative Employers: Employers manage workforce health risks through a combination of preventive care, physical and mental health initiatives, and comprehensive insurance coverage. These strategies not only contribute to the well-being of employees but also help mitigate the financial risks associated with workplace injuries, chronic health conditions, and absenteeism.

Employers that fail to mitigate such risks experience significant costs, both direct and indirect. Direct costs can include increased insurance premiums and workers' compensation claims. Indirect costs often include lost productivity due to employee absenteeism, decreased morale, and the costs associated with hiring and training replacement workers. These challenges are only expected to increase for employers.

The 2022 Best Practices in Healthcare Survey found that seven in ten employers anticipate moderate to significant increases in healthcare costs over the next three years. Employers can get ahead of rising healthcare costs with enhanced visibility into the health of their workforce and make data-driven decisions to invest in advanced medical technologies and wellness solutions that target their biggest cost centers, such as heart disease.