Global Point of Care
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) is already the leading cause of death in the world.1 People with diabetes are 2-3 times more likely to develop CVD.2 But, CVD can often be prevented before it takes hold.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 80% of premature deaths from heart attack and stroke could be avoided by quitting smoking, becoming more physically active, and adopting a healthy diet.3 Early assessment, efficient diagnosis, and ongoing monitoring are all vital to achieving positive outcomes.
The problem is, that before healthcare providers can recommend those critical changes to their patients, they first have to be in a position to diagnose and monitor cardiovascular disease. Testing, treatment, and compliance are the key to everything.
The more risk factors your patients have, the greater their chances of getting cardiovascular disease. Even with few or no underlying issues, there is still a 30% chance of getting CVD.4,5 Risk factors for cardiovascular disease include:
Familial Hypercholesterolemia is a significantly underdiagnosed and undertreated dyslipidemia, particularly in children. If you discover early heart disease in your patient’s medical history, there could be a chance they have Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH). Affecting approximately 1 in 250 individuals, it’s one of the most common genetic diseases.7,8
The diagnosis refers to individuals with very significantly elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) or “bad cholesterol.” For these patients, the standard lifestyle recommendations of exercise and healthy eating habits are usually not enough to lower their cholesterol to a healthy level.
Universal lipid screening in children between the ages of 9 and 11 years, as recommended by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association, National Lipid Association and the American College of Cardiology, has the potential to substantially improve case finding.7 If FH is left untreated, 30% of female patients have a heart attack by age 60, and 50% of male patients have a heart attack by age 50.9
It’s one thing to talk about the risks of cardiovascular disease and how to minimize them—it’s another to make sure your patients take the information to heart.
The encouraging news is when primary care doctors show genuine interest in their patient’s health problems, patients are more satisfied in their relationship with their care providers—and are more likely to stick with their treatments.10
In addition to monitoring weight and blood pressure, regular screening of lipoprotein profiles, HbA1c, and albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) testing are essential indicators of your patient’s cardiovascular health. Rapid point of care tests offer reliable results in minutes and enable coachable moments while the patient is still in your examination room. When the results of tests like ACR, HbA1c and Lipid Panel are in line, it’s a good indicator that the CVD risk factors under your patient’s control are being managed well.
If there’s a health issue to address – whether it’s hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease or cholesterol – you can educate your patient about reducing the risk of their condition worsening, or by prescribing medicine, if required, to relieve symptoms.4
In addition to monitoring weight and blood pressure, regular screening of lipoprotein profiles, HbA1c, and albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) testing are essential indicators of your patient’s cardiovascular health. Rapid point of care tests offer reliable results in minutes and enable coachable moments while the patient is still in your examination room. When the results of tests like ACR, HbA1c and Lipid Panel are in line, it’s a good indicator that the CVD risk factors under your patient’s control are being managed well.
If there’s a health issue to address – whether it’s hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease or cholesterol – you can educate your patient about reducing the risk of their condition worsening, or by prescribing medicine, if required, to relieve symptoms.4
If the test results aren’t what your patients want to hear, remind them that these numbers can be changed through lifestyle changes. As needed, you could suggest weight loss, choosing healthy food and drinks, an increase in regular exercise, and for patients to stop smoking.
Medication and lifestyle changes are effective at treating cardiovascular disease. For example, combination drug therapy (such as aspirin, beta blocker, diuretic, and statin) can lead to a 75% reduction in myocardial infarction (heart attack) among those at high risk of having one.8
In 2015, the total global cost of cardiovascular disease was approximately $957 billion. By 2030, it’s expected to rise to $1,044 billion.11,12
Reducing the burden on both patients and the global health system hinges on cardiovascular disease management interventions—and that starts with testing and monitoring. Lab testing is accurate and reliable, but it presents challenges. You might ask your patients to go to a lab collection site to take a panel of tests. That doesn’t mean they’ll go.
Even if you can draw the lab samples at your office, it often takes days before the results come back. And when the numbers finally arrive, you need to follow up with the patient which takes time your team doesn’t have.
Rapid diagnostics, on the other hand, offer lab-quality results without the wait. With point of care testing (POCT), you can collect the samples and receive the results within a matter of minutes. If the levels are out of range, you can take action before the appointment ends, whether that’s educating the patient about lifestyle changes or prescribing medication. No time is lost. No urgency is lost. And your patient has everything to gain.
Abbott makes a wide range of rapid diagnostic solutions with one thing in common: giving you the confidence you need in the moment to instill a lifetime of positive change in your patients.
The Cholestech LDX™ Analyzer empowers healthcare professionals and patients with a lab-accurate complete lipid profile and glucose in 5 minutes per test cassette.
A Leader In Rapid Point-of-care Diagnostics.
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Abbott - A Leader in Rapid Point-of-Care Diagnostics.