“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and Mexico is no exception. Even after a pandemic that caused high mortality as a result of it, this did not change the above. This is the size of the problem,” explains Dr. Genaro Mendoza Zavala, a cardiologist specializing in heart failure and transplants, in the framework of World Heart Day (September 29).
Today it is estimated that around 15 million people will die each year from this problem and the trend is not better. For example, speaking of acute myocardial infarction, every day approximately 33 people suffer from it and six of them die; In addition, 70% of our population lives with a cardiovascular risk factor, so doing something to change the landscape becomes essential.
Therefore, it is necessary to take a new look at cardiovascular diseases that need emergent care and be seen by health authorities and identified by patients, since it is one of the main causes of death in Mexico, so healthy habits such as exercise, proper nutrition and join the actions for World Heart Day.
In Mexico there are different groups that seek to give voice to the issue, who come together and investigate ways to address this public health problem. “The population should know that the probability of having a heart attack is very high and increases as we have more diseases such as diabetes, hypertension; that if we do not remove bad habits such as a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and we do not control problems such as obesity and overweight, the scenario will be worse.
Today there are many aspects to work in the country. From the outset we have to have diagnostic tools and apply them, achieve access to adequate, timely and comprehensive treatment, empower the patient and involve all sectors, but before that, what do we know about the disease?
Facts about cardiovascular diseases
The pharmaceutical company Novartis and the consulting firm Deloitte developed a regional study that will be launched within the framework of this World Heart Day 2022. Among the data they found that cardiovascular diseases are increasing in Latin America and today they represent 38% of non-communicable deaths, but for by 2030 it is expected to increase by 23 million more people who will die from cardiovascular diseases.
Alexandro Arias, study participant and leading partner in the life sciences and health care sector for Deloitte, explains that one of the first steps was to collect information, with data from 2019 it was found that 22.7% of all deaths in the country was due to cardiovascular diseases, these can occur in various combinations, for example, with diabetes, ischemic diseases and heart attacks.
Among other data, the study reveals that for every 100,000 inhabitants, the rate of new cases is 449.2 and the prevalence of 4,706, it was also revealed that it represents 29.5 of the total deaths that occur in the country.
Some of the concerns that the study registers is that it is a silent disease, “it is not easy to realize that one suffers from it and when one suffers a first event, which is when someone already realizes it, there are many programs that have been successful, like a heart attack code, there you go to secondary care, but when we feel good, we stop taking care of ourselves again and present another event”.
Arias assures that we have to think about what we can do differently, “we need awareness of doctors, patients, data measurement to be able to reach solid conclusions, equity and affordability, since most specialists are in large cities”
On the other hand, medicines are expensive and there is a shortage, “this caused out-of-pocket spending to increase by 40%”, there is also a lack of adherence to treatment and improvement in consultation times.
The specialist concludes that we need data and for that we also need the government, to be able to scale. “Initiatives that can be created can be tested to demonstrate their value, but then they must be replicated quickly, through alliances.” Finally, the creation of ecosystems is required to talk about cardiovascular diseases, and these groups have to grow, they must be promoted so that care becomes a reality.
Summit Alliance for All
An example of this tendency to generate alliances is the one announced this Wednesday, September 28, in which for the first time 10 health innovation companies come together with the aim of contributing to transforming and improving care for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). ) in our country through the CUMBRE initiative.
Adriana Díaz Guzmán, director of market access at Medtronic, assures that pharmaceutical and medical technology companies have realized that if they come together they have a greater reach and a much stronger voice to echo what is needed. “We are talking about a disease that is present in a large part of our population, without the union the scope would be slower and shorter, this is a way to generate together a faster and more expeditious solution for the health of Mexicans.”
Viviam Ubiarco, medical director of Novartis, explains that CUMBRE seeks to be something sustainable that allows breaking barriers in education, “this initiative arose because we know that it is very difficult to break barriers individually. We decided all the companies that innovate in health in cardiovascular diseases to break together one of the main barriers that is medical education and now for society”.
Dr. Alexandra Arias, clinical cardiologist and subspecialist in cardiovascular emergencies at the Ignacio Chávez coronary unit, assures that we have to change the awareness of cardiovascular disease, “let it be known that it is the main cause of death, even in times of pandemic and that we can only make this change if we have partnerships.” That the patient is aware, that he knows about the disease and the risk factors.
He said that the alliances work, “that is why we make a call not only to the pharmaceutical company, it is important that civil society, doctors and authorities understand the problem of cardiovascular health, that is the interest of us specialists”.
The voice of the patient
Carlos Castro, president of Corazón AC Patients (PACO) speaks on behalf of millions of patients and reflects: “The issue of access is fundamental. In a country where the health system is currently so absent and far away, the barriers to access become much greater, which is why we need to redouble our efforts.”
In addition to the above, he said that the greatest effort should be to influence public policies “if we do not manage to make our authorities, political actors, understand that this is a reality and that investing in health is a great need, we will only be seeing how the problem grows.
He also said that social determinants, that is, poverty, is one of the main factors why we do not have a healthy population, “we have to be very aware of this.” What the patient wants is a timely diagnosis and the best treatment and for this to be possible we need this Mexico to change its public health policy. For this reason, he asked that this commitment made through CUMBRE be a reality with joint projects and concrete actions that “do not remain mere phrases.”
checkups
In commemoration of International Heart Day, Previta, hospital at home, seeks to raise awareness about the habits and care that we must have, for this reason it shares 5 basic tips to prevent and care for heart health: Know hereditary diseases, be attentive to your blood pressure blood pressure, exercising and watching your diet, continually checking your heart, and managing stress.
Previta shares with readers of El Economista three free checkups for the commemoration through the Link: https://bit.ly/3R0Uo6bwith the following codes: Eleconomista1, Eleconomista2, and Eleconomista3
Check the regional study Novartis – Deloitte:
