India has witnessed an epidemiologic transition from infectious to non-communicable diseases in a short span of time. With about 30 million heart patients in 2015 and over two lakh cardiac surgeries performed annually, cardiovascular disease has reached humongous proportions in the country. If this trend continues, India would lead the world in the number of cardiovascular patients by 2020.
Docplexus’ latest survey is an effort to understand from doctors, the most common factors that increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases and the most trusted ways to determine the risks. Using these insights, drug developers and diagnostic service providers can assess their markets’ future needs and refine their product and marketing strategies.
Survey Details
Aim – To understand the leading risk factors for cardiovascular diseases amongst Indians and the most preferred tests for assessing the risks.
Survey Methodology – A pan-India online poll was administered to get a good randomized sample distribution across demographics.
Sample Size – The survey was taken by 54 cardiologists, out of which 41 completed it.
Survey Results
Experts claim that in the case of 61% of all cardiovascular deaths, the risk factors could have been treated and the deaths avoided. Our survey revealed that 91% of the respondents thought the patients themselves to be the biggest hurdle in the prevention of heart disease.
As with every lifestyle-induced illness, patients are required to take proactive steps to prevent or delay the onset of cardiovascular diseases. A healthy diet, management of stress, regular exercise, and maintenance of a healthy BMI contribute to cardiovascular health. Getting rid of bad habits like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption also helps. Moreover, those who are on medications must continue the treatment course as instructed by their physician. This will keep the risk factors at bay.
Hypertension came out to be the greatest risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, followed by smoking. The opinion was almost equally divided over diabetes and obesity. At present, 20% of all Indians suffer from hypertension. Apart from the known cases, a huge percentage remains undiagnosed. Moreover, some are pre-hypertensive or undertreated. By 2025, about 214 million Indians are estimated to suffer from hypertension. Thus, immediate measures are necessary to prevent, diagnose and control the rise of hypertension as a risk factor for heart disease.
A majority of the doctors trust the Framingham Risk Score for predicting the 10-year risk of heart disease in Indians. Close to half of the respondents relied on either Lipoprotein A or Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) as the key diagnostic tests for evaluating cardiovascular risk.
Docplexus is one of the world’s largest & fastest-growing networks of verified doctors and a trusted marketing partner of pharma, medical devices, diagnostics & nutraceutical companies. We empower our industry partners to meaningfully engage with the medical community through data-driven, evidence-based marketing & brand management solutions such as infocenter (branded microsite), mindset analysis, KOL webinars, sponsored medical updates, online CMEs & more.
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