Can Cutting-edge Tech Reduce Rising CVD Burden?

Each year World Heart Day is observed to increase awareness about cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), after all defeating them is something that matters to every beating heart. CVDs are disorders of the heart and blood vessels and are often referred to as “silent killers” because most of the patients with underlying heart ailments do not exhibit any obvious symptoms. Development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies backed by requisite government policy support and direction will help in bolstering the fight against CVDs and thus improving the quality of the individuals’ heart and also their lives. Let’s take a closer look.

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India is rapidly becoming the global CVDs epicentre which is primarily attributed to a mix of genetics, poor cultural practices and lifestyle factors among Indians such as increased trans fatty acids content in foods due to repeated use of cooking oil, unique pattern of atherogenic dyslipidaemia, consumption of processed and read-to eat foods, physical inactivity, obesity, high tobacco use, and increased stress levels that have contributed towards the increased prevalence of CVDs.

According to the Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease study, India has an age-standardised CVD death rate of 282 per 100,000 population which is remarkably higher than the global average of 233 deaths per 100,000. The key to managing CVDs is early detection which can help identify the risk of cardiovascular diseases before it becomes too late. The industry is making tremendous efforts to reduce the disease burden, technology advancements in digital health and MedTech have enabled disease detection at an early stage, and also helped disease management of high-risk patients.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI)based medical imaging analysis and precise screening solutions, continuous monitoring wearables and digital therapeutics have emerged as key enablers for the prevention and management of CVD in India. These technologies can play a vital role in lowering CVD risk and reducing the associated mortality rate which is especially important for a country that accounts for 60 per cent of the world’s disease burden. Some of these technologies to reduce cardiac disease burden are given below.

AI-based medical imaging analysis and screening solutions