BENGALURU: Almost 23 per cent of Indians die due to heart failure within one-year of diagnosis, and nearly 1 crore people in the country suffer from it, according to Lancet journal. Heart failure is a chronic disease condition in which the heart muscle responsible for the pumping action weakens or stiffens over time. Around 2.6 crore people worldwide suffer from it. Cardiologists from the country as well as the city said there is an urgent need to recognise heart failure as a public health priority.
Dr K. Sarat Chandra, President, Cardiological Society of India, said, “Since heart failure is a progressive disease with high associated death rates amongst Indians, there are enough reasons to be alarmed. The need of the hour is to recognize heart failure as a public health priority.” The INDUS (INDia Ukieri) study, a report of 2006 showed 1,03,000 bypass surgeries were carried out in Karnataka. In the Census 2011, Cardiovascular mortality in India was estimated to rise by 103 % in men and 110 % in women during the period of 1985-2015 and by the year 2020, the cardiovascular disease will be the greatest killer.
“In the year 2017, out of the total number of patients admitted to the Intensive Coronary Unit in Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, 2,000 were suffering from heart failure, of which 65 per cent were males,” said Dr C. N. Manjunath, Professor of Cardiology & Director. He also added that heart failure is the most common cardiac cause for repeated hospital admissions, which brings misery not only for the patient and family but takes a toll on their finances.
A particular combination of drugs is given to treat heart failure patients under ARNi therapy, which has helped in reducing mortality rate and repeated hospitalizations among the patients, he said. The disease presents a major and growing health-economic burden that currently costs the world economy $108 billion every year, which accounts for both direct and indirect costs. Dr Girish Navasundi, Senior Consultant Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, said, “Heart attacks have always existed in India, but earlier the typical age of patients with such conditions was above 55 years. However, what is alarming is that anywhere between 15 percent and 20 percent of the heart attack patients today fall under the age group of 25 and 40 years.”
Dr Chandra also said that there are many advanced treatment options available for heart failure these days. “The lifestyle modifications are mandatory, medicines help in reducing symptoms, improving quality of life and reducing mortality,” he added. An ongoing PARADIGM-HF study published by JAMA Cardiology, revealed the positive effects of treatment on routine activities like jogging, walking, visiting family and other hobbies, ultimately improve the quality of life of heart failure patients. PARADIGM-HF enrolled over 7,000 patients and is the largest clinical trial ever conducted on heart failure.
