Heart Health: When statins are not enough?

Your adult heart beats about 100,000 times each day. Do the math, and that’s at least one beat every second, or 60 to 100 times a minute, according to the American Heart Association.

When it comes to health, there’s no doubt that it is best to be proactive in terms of prevention than suffer the consequences of being neglectful especially when it comes to cardiovascular health.

It is a known fact that a heart attack can have devastating effects that could changed a person’s way of living. What’s even more alarming is that most people do not take note of the symptoms and factors that contribute to heart diseases. Good thing that through various initiatives, awareness about cardiovascular health is already improving. The key is finding the right connections that will address cardiovascular health in a more practical approach.

The partnership between Zuellig Pharma Corporation and Amgen Philippines Inc., aims to heighten the awareness on cardiovascular diseases or CVD through educational campaign. This targets to improve the way CVD is prevented and being properly managed.

Getting the right connections is vital such as family support which will be valuable in helping patients cope with the challenges as they deal with heart health issues. When people are more knowledgeable about heart health and conscious about cardiovascular diseases, family members can significantly support and help in the process for patients to take proper actions. This will entail prevention as well as properly coping with the patient’s current health condition.

According to pas.gov, there are more than 130,000 deaths associated with cardiovascular diseases in the Philippines as recorded in 2016. CVD is a complicated health condition that has many risk factors as it progresses. One of the most common risk is Dyslipidemia that occurs when a person has an abnormal level of lipids in his blood.

LIPIDS or what we commonly know as fats are necessary in giving energy to the cells in our bodies. Whereas, cholesterol is essential in the production of hormones and bile acids needed for proper digestion.

We have two kinds of cholesterol in the body- good and bad cholesterol. Low Density Lipoprotein or LDL-C is recognized as bad cholesterol and having elevated levels of this can trigger the development of cardiovascular diseases. Increased LDL-C in the bloodstream contributes to development of atherosclerotic plaque deposits which are blockages in the arteries that can lead to stroke or heart attack. Keeping the levels of LDL-C in check will help in preventing cardiovascular diseases.

The usual treatment for decreasing LDL-C is statins but there are patients that would not have favorable response and would require a more effective approach. Being able to have access to innovative treatments that will effectively manage dyslipidemia can make a huge difference for patients who are not responding well in achieving good levels of lipids with just statin.  

 One Heart. One Family. One Goal. Media Conference for cardiovascular disease awareness hosted by Amgen Philippines Inc. and Zuellig Pharma Corporation held at Creon Regency Hotel Ortigas

Amgen Philippines Inc. and Zuellig Pharma Corporation are genuinely committed in improving the lives of people afflicted with dyslipidemia and their families with by providing support and help in making necessary steps in preventing and managing health risks.