Heart failure is the disease that all Portuguese people should know as well as they know diabetes, hypertension or even insomnia.
The latest study on heart failure in Portugal (PORTHOS) concluded that one in six Portuguese people over 50 years of age suffers from this disease. The scenario becomes more serious when you understand that 9 out of 10 did not know they had it. Previous studies pointed to a much lower prevalence, but it’s easy to understand why. The population is aging. If today it is estimated that around 25% of the Portuguese population is over 65 years old, in 2050 this percentage could be almost half of our population.
Advances in healthcare and broader access to care have allowed for greater focus on prevention and early diagnosis of various diseases, while people survive longer events such as heart attacks and strokes. A few decades ago, many cases of diabetes or hypertension were not diagnosed or treated as they are today. As longevity increases, the human body has more opportunities to manifest diseases related to aging of organs, such as the heart, where heart failure occurs.
Signs and symptoms of heart failure may include swelling of the feet at the end of the day, disproportionate tiredness, decreased stamina to perform daily activities, the need to stop after exertion, or even difficulty sleeping without being propped up by pillows due to lack of of air. However, these complaints are often undervalued and attributed to “normal aging.” However, it is precisely in this initial phase, with milder symptoms, that the risk of sudden death is highest.
As the disease progresses, difficulties in daily activities become so severe that many people end up going to emergency services, where treatment often consists only of temporarily relieving symptoms with medications such as diuretics. This cycle continues until hospitalizations become frequent and quality of life declines dramatically, wasting the window of opportunity for adequate disease control.
Did you know that after being diagnosed with heart failure, 50% of people die within five years? By comparison, heart failure kills more people than some of the most prevalent cancers, such as breast cancer.
The issue of access to diagnosis is another important barrier. There is a blood test called natriuretic peptide that can help easily diagnose this disease. However, this exam is not reimbursed by health centers, only hospitals. If the goal is to diagnose and treat the disease to reduce mortality and improve patients’ quality of life, wouldn’t it make sense for this analysis to also be available in health centers? Furthermore, in hospitals, where the most serious cases are monitored, access to echocardiograms, another crucial test, is more limited. This nonsense must be quickly corrected by political decision makers. Fortunately, those with ADSE already participate in this type of analysis, reinforcing the access imbalance between those who have financial capacity and those who do not.
Another relevant point is the low reimbursement of some medications used to treat heart failure, which places a significant burden on families, especially the most vulnerable. Despite therapeutic advances, financial accessibility remains a challenge for many patients.
There is consensus among doctors and nurses from different specialties that the National Health Service should prioritize patients with heart failure, standardize diagnostic resources, improve population literacy, raise awareness and train professionals in this area and improve reimbursement. of the treatments. Early diagnosis and treatment of the disease reduces not only mortality, but also the costs associated with emergency episodes, frequent hospitalizations, and loss of quality of life.
The Association for Support of Patients with Heart Failure (AADIC) has played a fundamental role in educating patients, promoting better conditions for those living with this disease and raising awareness among policy makers about the urgency of this issue.
I finish with a reflection: suffering a heart attack is not the same as having heart failure. It is essential that patients understand the difference, pay attention to the signs and know how to manage this condition that is increasingly common in the aging hearts of the Portuguese.
Jonathan dos Santos is a General and Family Medicine doctor, coordinator of the Cardiovascular Diseases Study Group of the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine. He is the author of the blog oteumedicodefamilia.com
Arterial is a section of the Observer dedicated exclusively to topics related to cerebrovascular diseases. It results from a partnership with Novartis and has the collaboration of the Association to Support Patients with Heart Failure, the Portuguese Cardiology Foundation, Portugal AVC, the Portuguese Stroke Society, the Portuguese Atherosclerosis Society and the Portuguese Society of Cardiology. It is completely independent editorial content.
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Source: Observadora
