Indians are not only developing heart failure (HF) at a faster pace but the death rate is also higher than their counterparts in South-Asia, South America and West Asia. This has been the outcome of a comprehensive study on heart failures conducted across six geographies globally.
Heart failure, often referred to as congestive heart failure (CHF), occurs when the heart muscle is weakened and unable to pump sufficiently to maintain blood flow to meet the body’s needs
The International Congestive Heart Failure (INTER-CHF) study, published in recent edition of lancet, said that Indian, with 23 per cent of heart failure death within one year of diagnosis, is just next to Africa where the rate stands at 34 per cent.
Death rate of patients due to heart failures in Southeast Asia is 15 per cent, seven per cent in China, nine per cent both in South America and West Asia, significantly lower than in Indian patients.
Of the total deaths, 46 per cent were due to cardiac issues, while non-cardiac causes led to 16 per cent deaths in patients.
Of several reasons for developing heart failure, which is on increase among Indians, is poor intake of fruits and vegetables, low physical activities causing diabetes, obesity and blood pressure, smoking and stress, said Dr Sundeep Mishra, Professor of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
In India, heart-related diseases occur a decade early than the people of west. lack of awareness, out of pocket expenditure and lack of infrastructure are corroborating to the heart-related diseases, said Mishra and added that with increasing life expectancy of the population and changing lifestyle, incidence of heart failure is increasing in an epidemic proportion.
The study was aimed at measuring mortality at one year in patients, due to heart failure in India, Africa, China, the Middle East, South East Asia and South America.
A total 5,823 patients across 108 centres in six geographies were enrolled in the study.
Patients were followed up at six months and one year from enrollment. The mean age of patients was 59 years, with a male to female ratio of 60:40.
Calling for a community based approach to resolve the issue, Mishra said heart failure is a chronic disease and rehabilitation includes controlled diet, exercise and medicines.
A lot of Indians also do not understand the difference between heart failure and heart attack because of which they do not consult doctors.
“Heart failure refers to the condition where the blood pumping capacity of the heart is reduced. Whereas heart attack is secondary to blocked coronary circulation, where the blood supply to muscles of heart is cut or drastically reduced. Heart failure is a serious health hazard and can be life threatening if ignored,” Mishra said.
“Although there is no cure for heart failure, patients who are diagnosed early need to follow their treatment and make lifestyle changes to live longer, feel better and be more active. It is, therefore, vital that patients and care givers are aware of the symptoms of heart failure, leading to better recognition and earlier diagnosis,” said Mishra.
The estimated heart failure burden in India ranges from 1.3 million to 4.6 million cases per annum. The need of the hour is to disseminate awareness to the general public, added Dr HK Bali, chief patron of the Heart Foundation.