In keeping with its practice of sharing key statistics and results of clinical studies with Physicians, Sanofi-aventis Pakistan limited organized a Cardio-Thrombosis Poster Session titled “Heart-to-Heart” recently at its Head office in Karachi. It was attended by a large gathering of leading Physicians, Cardiologists, Diabetologists and Family Physicians from across the country. The event saw the unveiling of the results of three clinical studies (Heart Asia, CLIMATE & ACCORD) conducted by Sanofi-aventis Pakistan.
Dr. Noman Niaz was the host of the evening. Principal investigators of the three studies were also present on the occasion to provide a comprehensive overview to their fellow physicians on the significance of the data collected on local population, which they hoped would help physicians in gaining a better understanding of disease pattern and management.
Dr. Bashir Hanif, Interventional Cardiologist & Chief, Tabba Heart Institute, Karachi delivered a presentation on the key findings of the “Heart Asia” study. HEART Asia describes the practice of management of hypertensive patients in the local medical setting. New international guidelines on hypertension recommend that the target Blood Pressure to be achieved during therapy must be based on individual cardiovascular risk profile. Conducted over a period of two years, 2687 patients from across Pakistan were registered for the study in 141 clinical centres.
Prof. Saulat Siddique, Consultant Cardiologist & HOD, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore shared the results of CLIMATE. Elaborating on the objectives and results of the study, Prof. Siddique noted, “A person suffering from any manifestation of atherothrombosis has a life-long risk of future disabling or life-threatening events caused by a single underlying disease process”. He further said that the study was conducted across 8 countries of the Asia Pacific Region. Around 260 patients from all over Pakistan participated in the study. This was a multi-centre, cross-sectional clinical survey of patients with atherothrombotic events in an acute hospital setting. Atherothrombosis is a life-threatening condition that leads to heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease
Prof. Waris Qidwai, Chairman Family Medicine, The AKUH, Karachi, also spoke at length on the current practices for the management of Hypertension.
Speakers stressed on modifying patients’ therapy according to patients’ profile and Blood Pressure targets. An important observation shared with the audience was that risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and sedentary lifestyle are commonly prevalent in our local population and physicians need to manage patients. The need for physicians to take measures in order to help patients adhere to therapy was also underscored.
Medical Director of Sanofi-aventis Pakistan, Dr. Amanullah Khan expressed his view that it was important to keep on generating local epidemiological data as it helps understand the prevalent gaps and needs of disease management.