Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in Spain, Europe and the world. In our country, as a percentage, more women than men already die from coronary disease. On the other hand, another of the great pathologies in Cardiology is heart failure, whose numbers continue to increase. According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics, in 2020 there were 125.000 discharges in our country due to this pathology.
According to experts, despite the advances in pharmacological and technological devices available, it is not advisable to lower our guard since, behind these figures, there is an exponential deterioration of the lifestyle, which revolves around three fundamental parameters: risk factors modifiable, such as smoking; physical exercise and diet.
For the Head of the Cardiology Service of the Hospital de Dénia, Alfonso Valle, "smoking cessation, moderate physical exercise -between 5-6 hours a week- and the Mediterranean diet are a masterful triad for heart-healthy balance and the best prevention measure".
In addition, Dr. Valle emphasizes, “the increase in accessibility to the health system and advances in the field of digitization and data processing has generated a scenario in the specialty radically different from the one used just two decades ago. In this sense, adds the Head of Cardiology of the Hospital de Dénia, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped standardize the remote monitoring of patients, so that diagnoses and treatments can be more accessible and agile ".
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The European Society of Cardiology, in its clinical practice guidelines, already accepts external devices (wereables) as a diagnostic method for atrial fibrillation. In fact, adds Dr. Valle, "there are some on the market that detect arrhythmias and even perform electrocardiograms." It should be remembered that arrhythmia is a pathology with a very high degree of prevalence, since it affects 2% of the world population and is responsible for 35-40% of strokes. However, the recommendation is that, from the age of 65, a population screening be carried out in health centers with control electrocardiograms, to detect pathologies such as Atrial Fibrillation.
Telemedicine is gradually making its way to facilitate the management of cardiovascular diseases and make the diagnosis and treatment process simpler.
The Dénia Health Department has implemented a telemedicine pilot program in the Benissa Health Center for patients with suspected heart failure, which allows Primary Care physicians to make an early diagnosis, using clinical ultrasound. The images are stored in the patient's medical history and are subsequently reviewed by specialist cardiology physicians.
The program will gradually expand to other health centers in the Marina Alta.
