– As Getz Pharma launches Vacutro
A Professor of Medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, and Consultant Cardiologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Amam Mbakwem, has decried the prevalence of heart failure across the globe, saying the rising cases of heart failure and cardiovascular-related diseases require special attention from concerned health professionals in Nigeria.
Mbakwem made the remarks at the recent launch of Vacutro, a brand of sacubitril/valsartan, by Getz Pharma in Lagos State.
Speaking on “Minimising the risk of hospitalisation & cardiovascular death in heart failure patients”, the professor of medicine noted that 64 million adults worldwide are living with heart failure and the number is expected to rise, due to increasing aging population, increasing prevalence of risk factors, as well as improved post-myocardial infarction (MI) survival.
According to Mbakwem, a person at age 40 has a one in five lifetime risk of developing heart failure, stating that more than one million hospitalisations due to heart failure are reported annually in Europe. She added that all patients with heart failure, regardless of their symptoms, have a poor prognosis.
She specifically stated that within three years, 34 per cent of New York Heart Association (NYHA) Classification I and II patients, and 42 per cent of NYHA classification III and IV patients die.
The consultant cardiologist further noted that, in developed countries, heart failure is the primary cause of hospitalisation in patients aged above 65 years, adding that all patients with heart failure are at increased risk of frequent, repeated hospitalisations.
She emphasised that the newly launched Vacutro is suitable and more effective to manage heart failure and achieve optimal treatment, noting that sacubitril/valsartan has proved significantly effective in reducing death from cardiovascular causes or first hospitalisation for heart failure.
Mbakwem stated that sacubitril/valsartan has a safety and tolerability profile comparable to that of enalapril, stressing that sacubitril/valsartan has fewer adverse effects.
