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MORGANTOWN – WVU Medicine is changing tactics and using new technologies to combat cardiovascular disease, in light of new findings from the American Heart Association.
A study conducted by the badociation included high blood pressure during cardiovascular disease examinations and concluded that 48% of American adults, or 121.5 million people, had some form of cardiovascular disease, according to 2016 data. He remains the No. 1 murderer of all Americans, making more than 840,000 deaths in that year alone.
"As one of the most common and most dangerous risk factors for heart disease and stroke, this hypertensive high blood pressure can not be discounted from the equation of our disease control. Cardiovascular, "said Dr. Ivor J. Benjamin, MD, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association and director of the Cardiovascular Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
"Research has shown that the elimination of high blood pressure could have a greater impact on CVD deaths than the elimination of all other risk factors in women and all but the Smoking in men, "said Benjamin.
According to the badociation, the bright side is that 80% of all cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by controlling hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, while adopting fashions. healthy living, such as refraining from smoking. Other healthy habits such as maintaining a healthy diet, practicing a physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight can have the greatest impact as they contribute to better health. multiple conditions.
Dr. Partho Sengupta, head of the cardiology department of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, said that West Virginia was at a disadvantage when it comes to high blood pressure, hypertension and cardiovascular disease in general because of high rates of obesity and tobacco consumption within the state. .
The problem is so acute, he said, that the prevalence of heart disease resembles that of developing countries. Such a situation is bad for patients and it also means that resources that can be used elsewhere are needed to cover the costs of health care.
However, the doctor said that WVU Medicine was working with the American Heart Association and other health organizations to tackle the problem.
"It is possible to control hypertension. I see this as an opportunity to advance science, "said Sengupta, adding that, if handled properly, West Virginia could become a national leader.
New technologies that patients can use to solve their own heart health problems are used. This includes the extensive use of telemedicine, various downloadable applications on personal devices and even medical equipment, such as a mobile ultrasound system, in which the patient's use is demonstrated. .
Electronic cardiograms are also used.
The WVU Heart and Vascular Institute has also recently used machine learning to predict the clinical presentations and outcomes of patients with aortic stenosis. Aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the blood vessels that can limit blood flow to the heart, resulting in lasting lesions.
The methodologies also change.
In the past, Sengupta had stated that the traditional procedure in case of hypertension would be that the doctor examines the patient with a stethoscope and prescribes a medication for him. However, the distance some patients have to travel to the doctor's office means that the follow-up visits needed to detect more serious problems may not occur.
"The patient may never come back if we do that," he said. Instead of being evaluated, patients are now receiving more badessments through badessments to determine the source of hypertension rather than simply treating the symptoms in the hope that the cause will be discovered and treated.
Sengupta said that these new methods and the increasing use of advanced technologies can lead to some sort of "GPS for diseases" in which they can be more quickly located and processed before the worst damage is caused.
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