Saturday, December 2, 2023, 08:33
Those who have already seen the wolf’s claws at some point in their lives, for their own good, learn the lesson. People who have experienced a cardiovascular event, such as a myocardial infarction or stroke, know that they have a higher risk of experiencing it again, so secondary prevention (detecting the disease at an early stage and applying treatment that prevents its progression and possible complications) becomes not a necessity, but an obligation. Fundamentally, to significantly reduce this risk, prevent future episodes and, therefore, improve their quality of life, as well as reduce the costs associated with medical care.
With the aim of addressing this reality in a climate of dialogue, a panel of health specialists from the Region met yesterday in Murcia, within the framework of the ‘Ponle Corazón’ meeting, organized by LA VERDAD, XLSemanal and Vocento, with the collaboration of Novartis.
The experts who participated in the round table, which was moderated by the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief, Víctor Rodríguez, agreed on the importance of appealing to education in its different aspects to meet this challenge. “We are working a lot on secondary prevention, but there is still a lot to do in primary prevention,” warned Irene Marín, general director of Hospital Care, emphasizing the need to raise awareness among parents to reduce childhood obesity rates. In this regard, a recent study published by the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) and the National Epidemiology Center place the Region among the communities with the highest rates of childhood overweight and obesity, since more than a third of children and girls are overweight.
“We have to educate a little more,” continued María José Ibáñez, vice president of Cardioalianza, “because obese children come to us (to the association) and they miss us very much.” The Primary Care doctor at the Sangonera La Verde health center in Murcia, Manuela Guillén, advised following the Mediterranean diet, “which is fantastic,” but without ingesting more calories than necessary, despite the fact that the food, due to popular culture, She is the protagonist of family, social and work gatherings.
The professor of Cardiology and head of the Cardiology Service at the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital, Domingo Pascual, proposed unifying the work criteria among all the agents involved and moving cardiovascular prevention beyond the community sphere, as well as to the business ecosystem. “If we get society to behave in a uniform way, objectives will be achieved,” he stressed. “We are partly to blame for not knowing how to convey the message,” acknowledged Ramón López Palop, president of the Murcia Society of Cardiology, regarding the volume of secondary prevention patients who continue to smoke. Even so, he encouraged a positive reading of the negative figures: “It has to be a stimulus to correct what is being done wrong.”
Toxic habits
Palop emphasized eliminating toxic habits, such as alcohol intake. Pascual was more blunt and was in favor of applying more aggressive measures such as, for example, raising the price of a pack of tobacco, as contemplated by the French Government, which estimates that between next year and 2025 it will cost 12 euros. Likewise, he encouraged the population to have a proactive attitude to reduce two of the most modifiable risk factors, hypertension and cholesterol. “Just as you know how fast you have to go on the highway to avoid having an accident, you should also know your blood pressure and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels,” he said, adding that each person should keep their own count. “Until the patient takes control of his levels, as we have achieved with diabetes, there will be no control of the situation,” he added. In short, empower the patient to be an active protagonist in their health. A vision shared by the general director of Hospital Care, who maintained the objective of “transmitting to the patient the importance of having their levels controlled and maintaining them over time.” In the case of secondary prevention patients, the goal for their LDL cholesterol is to drop below 55 milligrams per deciliter of blood.
“Sometimes, patients find it difficult to lead a healthy lifestyle,” said the vice president of Cardioalianza, while warning them: “They are responsible for their lives.” She said that from the non-profit organization, once they arrive, they are informed about cardiovascular disease and provide emotional support, raising awareness about healthy lifestyle habits.
Another risk factor that was put on the table was pollution, whose scientific evidence maintains that tiny particles pass into the bloodstream and damage the interior walls of blood vessels, causing them to narrow and harden, according to the Spanish Heart Foundation. . “Pollution is taking on a lot of weight,” warned Irene Marín, while Domingo Pascual added that “it will gain importance in the coming years.”
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Care networks for the prevention of cardiovascular patients in the Region
“Time,” responded the deputy director general of Pharmacy and Research of the Region of Murcia, Casimiro Jiménez Guillen, to the question posed by journalist Alicia Parro about what cardiologists need to be better prepared. “They need time to know their patients perfectly, to diagnose them and to train,” she reasoned.
In addition, he reviewed some of the healthcare and training projects present in the health areas of the Community that aim to significantly improve the care and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The star project is ‘CarPriMur’, launched at the end of 2017, which aims to improve the continuity of care for cardiology patients, promote the training of health professionals, promote the efficient use of resources, and improve the clinical results of patients. with heart problems and increase the degree of satisfaction of doctors and patients.
He also mentioned the European project ‘Pharaon’ (in English, ‘Pilots for Healthy and Active Aging’), of which 12 countries are part and which has already reached 150 homes in the Region of Murcia. People over 55 years of age and with cardiac pathology participate, who are monitored in their own home, through three devices: a blood pressure monitor, a smart bracelet and a digital scale integrated into a mobile phone application for the patient with recommendations and questionnaires. personalized. Likewise, signs of complications can be identified early and intervened before they even show any symptoms, taking into account how their life, habits and customs develop. “The data is received and analyzed by SMS specialist nurses,” he confirmed.
Next, he put on the table the ‘Activa’ program, which promotes therapeutic physical activity in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, to prevent chronic problems and sedentary behaviors, in addition to promoting healthy lifestyles. Family doctors and nurses prescribe sports activity, which takes place in the municipal centers provided by the town councils. Thanks to the good health of this project, two new branches were created: ‘Activa Familia’, for the parents or children of these patients, and ‘Activa-Cardio’, for those who have suffered an acute myocardial infarction and undergone cardiac rehabilitation; Currently, this program consists of two groups, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, dependent on the Reina Sofía hospital.
Cardiovascular patients go to the health center more than 15 times a year
He opened the meeting with an optimistic and hopeful message: “We can rewrite our destiny,” launched the director of XLSemanal, Mar Cohnen, in relation to the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. She said it knowingly, since her father died from a massive heart attack – she said – when she was barely 12 years old. “Nothing was the same anymore,” she confessed, and then insisted that “we have come to spread the word to avoid small stories like mine and so many others.” In line, the Director of Institutional Relations of Novartis, Natividad Calvente, stressed that the company works on second opportunities – one of its strategic axes -, with therapeutic solutions, lines of work and public-private strategies. In this sense, she reminded the administrations that her hand is extended to carry out joint collaborations, which are “fundamental,” she said. For her part, the manager of the Murcian Health Service (SMS), Isabel Ayala, stressed “the need to carry out adequate monitoring” of cardiovascular patients, with the aim of reducing the pressure they exert at the healthcare level. Because, according to her estimates, these people go to Primary Care centers 15.4 times a year, which is double the number of visits compared to the general population.
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