2023-04-24 16:44:20
Coronary heart disease, or CHD for short, is one of the main causes of cardiac insufficiency, along with high blood pressure. CAD is present in around 80 percent of the approximately 65,000 cases of sudden cardiac death in Germany. “Improved prevention and treatment options – medicinal, interventional and surgical – have contributed to reducing the number of new cases of CHD and deaths from CHD in recent years,” says Prof. Dr. medical Thomas Voigtländer, CEO of the German Heart Foundation. But for a further reduction in the number of deaths, differentiated prevention strategies are already necessary in childhood and adolescence, as well as an expansion of outpatient cardiological care and more investment in cardiovascular research.
The heart is a sensitive organ and can be damaged by a wide variety of influences. Researchers in Switzerland and the United States have now found that certain strains of bacteria in the mouth, as well as infection and inflammation in the body, can lead to plaque in the arteries, high blood pressure, a heart attack or other harmful cardiovascular event. Nevertheless, according to the German Society for Cardiology (DGK), the public opinion prevails that whoever has a heart disease is to blame, eat the wrong food, move too little and possibly still have a vice like smoking. Those affected would have to take responsibility for this themselves. However, the DGK points out that such risk factors are by no means responsible for all coronary artery diseases. The same applies to myocardial insufficiency or cardiac arrhythmia. Many patients would have no chance at all of positively influencing the course of their illness by changing their lifestyle.
National cardiovascular strategy required
To improve care and research, the German Society for Cardiology (DGK), the German Society for Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery (DGTHG) and the German Society for Pediatric Cardiology (DGPK) together with the German Heart Foundation patient representatives are calling for a national heart -circular strategy. “In view of the unchanged high incidence and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, efforts must be made for our patients that are comparable to those in the field of cancer research and treatment,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Stephan Baldus, President of the DGK. “The Federal Government supports the German Center for Cardiovascular Research with just 13 percent of the amount available to the German Cancer Research Center.”
An omission that ultimately costs a lot of money. According to a recent study by the economic research institute WifOR, patients who die of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease lose an average of almost ten years of life as a result of their disease. In addition, socio-economic costs of more than one billion euros per year were incurred due to lost productivity, hospitalization and rehabilitation stays. The aim must therefore be to give heart patients back the ten years they lost.
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