VietNamNet Bridge – 25 percent of mature Vietnamese are at risk of heart disease, a report read at a heart conference held in Vietnam revealed.

A heart operation in Central Paediatric Hospital. (Photo: Central Paediatric Hospital)

Khai quoted research on heart disease in Vietnam conducted since 2003, saying that 25 percent of mature persons in the country are suffering from high blood pressure, which directly leads to strokes.

“There are about 1.6 million people with heart failure in Vietnam,” Doctor Pham Nguyen Vinh of the HCM City Heart Centre said.

300 delegates from 30 countries around the world participated in the congress. Foreign doctors discussed interventional cardiology treatment procedures of 14 congenital and non-congenital heart disease patients at Bach Mai hospital.

Many young researchers from Asian countries discussed specialist topics including the NT – proBNP test, which could be used to help diagnose heart failure and determine the severity of the condition.

Doctor James L. Januzzi of Harvard Medical School discussed recommendations for the NT – proBNP test in clinical treatment. The test costs about VND 300,000 – half the price of the conventional test – and takes only 20 minutes for a test result.

NT – proBNP test can help doctors differentiate between heart failure and other problems, such as lung disease, said James L. Januzzi.

The Vietnam Heart Association recommends local hospitals apply the test for diabetics and coronary heart patients to diagnose heart failure early.

Heart disease is the second-biggest killer in the world, and the WHO estimates that 17 million people die annually of heart disease globally. Treatment expenses reach hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

Vietnam officially became a permanent member of the ASEAN Federation of Cardiology in 2004.

Le Ha