Euro 2020 puts a spotlight on cardiovascular health
The topic of cardiovascular health has gained a significant amount of attention this week, after Christian Eriksen collapsed in Denmark's Euro 2020 match against Finland. Thankfully, the midfielder say’s himself that he is recovering well and what’s more, it’s put a much needed focus on what is the leading cause of death in the world.
Cardiometabolic and vascular diseases (CVDs) are not only becoming increasingly more common, but also regularly top the list of most costly. In the US alone, the economic cost of CVD is expected to surpass $1.1tn by 2035, nearly doubling since 2016 when it was $555bn.
Since our heart health, in addition to age and genetic inheritance, is heavily linked to our lifestyle habits, the unhealthy choices that people make when it comes to diet, alcohol intake, exercise routines, etc, are contributing significantly to the increase in CVD risk.
On top of this, the number of people aged over 65 is projected to double to 1.5 billion in 2050. Given that an individual’s risk of developing heart disease increases with age, this means our aging population is left even more vulnerable to cardiovascular problems. Lifestyle changes can go a long way improving one’s heart health and preventing the onset of CVD, but certain factors like age, genetics or previous heart attacks will remain.
For those unable to reduce their risk through lifestyle changes alone, in addition to those who already suffer from previous CVD, reducing levels of lipids in the blood known as low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is advised. Today, the drug Statins is widely accepted as the standard treatment, however, even though effective in reducing the risk of CVD by up to 30-40%, better understanding of the link between LDL-C and CVD evolved and new drugs have been created.
“As we live longer - because we survive conditions we used to die from (heart attacks, cancer etc) - we get exposed to developing atherosclerosis for a longer time, and therefore the burden of cardiovascular disease increases. It may seem a paradox, that we have improved the prognosis of heart attack, heart failure and other serious conditions, yet we now survive with the disease rather than dying from it” says Professor of Vascular Disease at Univ. of Copenhagen, Henrik Sillesen.
It’s clear that CVD continues to be a high priority in the scientific community, and the need for greater investment in developing effective and affordable therapies to both treat and prevent CVD has clearly never been more pressing.
Research and development is essential
Despite great improvements in emergency response systems, treatment options and prevention efforts, knowledge sharing has remained a significant barrier to the approval of new drugs. This is due to a heavily fragmented global information systems that are unable to keep up with the pace of new science.
Airfinity’s vertically-integrated platform provides a comprehensive source of new science with accurate, objective and predictive metrics for immediate impact assessment. This enables better knowledge dissemination and, ultimately, faster discoveries.
In order to gain a 360° view of the therapy area, the platform monitors breaking scientific developments in cardio-metabolic and vascular research from early discovery, pivotal and take-to-market trials, diagnostic methods, drugs and surgical implants.
In the area of lipid lowering therapies, Airfinity tracks data from over 70 candidates in development and monitors the latest scientific information around new drug approvals, cost effectiveness analyses, updated clinical trial progress and scientific society guidelines. Our expert analysis allows governments, medical associations and pharmaceutical companies to identify the drugs on the horizon that are likely to provide patients with the best cardiovascular outcomes in the future.
Learn more about our platform and how it can support those working within Cardiometabolic and Vascular diseases here.