Heart disease: A silent killer
It should be declared as health priority: Study
Clinical evaluations at the hospital level have shown a drastic increase in the number of death rates associated with heart disease, due to which the CSI wants a community level initiative to be introduced to deal with heart problem.
“Heart failure must be declared as a public health priority,” stated the Cardiology Society of India, adding that the silent killer was responsible for the death of one-third of all patients admitted to hospitals and one-fourth of all patients within three months of diagnosis.
Dr K. Sarat Chandra, president of Cardiology Society of India explained, “The incidence of heart failure in India is around 10 million. A recent International Congestive Heart Failure study highlights that mortality rate in patients after one year of diagnosis is as high as 23 per cent in India. The study also emphasised that cardiac patients in the country are approximately 10 years younger than patients in Europe and USA. We want to create a community-level awareness programme so that the problem can be tackled easily. This can be done if the government declares it as a public health priority.” The mean age of heart failure in India is 59 years. Those suffering from rheumatic heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension are also contributors to the increasing incidence of heart failure cases in India.
Dr B. Hydriv Rao, senior cardiologist explained, “What we have found is that there is a lack of basic awareness about heart failure, its symptoms and its treatment options. The mortality and hospitalisation costs can be reduced by taking evidence-based guidelines directed towards medications.”