MUMBAI:
On the occasion of the World Heart Failure Awareness Month which is observed in May every year, leading cardiologists, Dr. Vishal Rastogi, Fortis Escort Hospital and Dr. Sundeep Mishra, AIIMS, New Delhi, announced the launch of a heart failure patient support group – ‘Patients United for Heart Failure Foundation’.
‘Patients United for Heart Failure Foundation’ is one of the only few patient support groups for heart failure patients in India. The patient support group aims to improve quality of life of Heart failure patients by serving as a repository of information on heart failure management and available treatment options in India.
It supports research in the disease area of heart failure to ensure that better disease management and treatment protocols are practiced. It highlight the urgent need for the government to prioritise heart failure amongst other CVDs, owing to the high mortality and hospitalisation rates associated with it.
Besides this, it also highlights the socio-economic impact of heart failure on patients and caregivers, due to its progressive nature and associated hospitalisations, and therefore the need to include it under insurance. It also aims at raising awareness about the disease and establish a difference between heart failure and heart attack as two different disease entities.
Kushagra Sharma, 31, a heart failure patient who underwent heart transplant three years ago, is one of the directors of the foundation and intends to, “align the activities of the patient group with the expectations and needs of heart failure patients.”
As per a recent INTER-CHF study, heart failure is associated with high mortality rates in India, with close to 23% of patients dying within one-year of diagnosis. The study also highlighted that heart failure patients in India are approximately 10 years younger than patients in the US and Europe. The mean age at the time of death was 59 years in India.
“India has close to 10 million heart failure patients and the burden is expected to continue growing over the next few years. The high mortality rates amongst heart failure patients in India is alarming. Patients United for Heart Failure Foundation will work towards prioritising heart failure and create a roadmap for disease management,” said Dr. Vishal Rastogi, director -Patients United for Heart Failure Foundation and Head – Advanced Heart failure Program at Fortis Escort Hospital, New Delhi.
“Early diagnosis is the key to manage heart failure. Therefore, it becomes important for patients and caregivers to be watchful of symptoms and for doctors and hospitals to undertake early interventions,” said Dr. Sundeep Mishra, advisor – Patients United for Heart Failure Foundation and Professor Cardiology, AIIMS New Delhi.
This year, the Patients United for Heart Failure Foundation will enroll heart failure patients and caregivers from across the country and mobilise them through on-ground activities.
Heart failure is a progressive disease in which the heart muscle responsible for the pumping action weakens or stiffens over time. As a result, the heart muscle fails to efficiently pump blood and thus, oxygen and nutrients, through the body.
