Coordination among professionals is crucial for good vascular patient care

• Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart or kidney failure monopolise 70% of healthcare expenditure[1], meaning that professionals must make the most efficient use possible of specialised care  
• The future of diabetes treatment, apart from monitoring blood sugar levels, involves improving other risk factors such as high blood pressure and dyslipidaemia[2]  
• Recent European guidance indicates that new anticoagulants must also be considered in new cases of atrial fibrillation

Barcelona, 18 February 2013.-Over 300 national and international specialists came together last Friday and Saturday for the 7th VAM meeting (Vascular Disease: A Multidisciplinary Approach), organised by Almirall and held in Barcelona.  It also served as a meeting point for vascular medicine specialists and aimed to encourage coordination among different areas and patient quality of care. For those unable to attend, the event could also be followed by streaming from anywhere in the country atwww.vamalmirall.com.

According to Dr. José Ramón González Juanatey, Head of the Cardiology Service and Coronary Unit of the University Clinical Hospital in Santiago de Compostela and a member of the Scientific Committee of the VAM 2013, “the multi-disciplinary spirit of the VAM is just one example of what needs to be done, particularly in the current situation.  We need commitment and coordination from every healthcare professional in order to provide excellent care that is cost effective and guarantees that 21st century medicines can be available to everyone”.

The future of type 2 diabetes treatment

Type 2 diabetes is on the increase and has numerous cardiovascular implications. In fact, 70-80% of diabetic patients in hospital are admitted for cardiovascular reasons and over half of diabetic patient deaths result from cardiovascular causes[3].  This is why, apart from monitoring blood sugar levels, other risk factors should also be controlled, such as high blood pressure and dyslipidaemia, which affect over 80% of type 2 diabetics³.

Dr. Mannucci, one of the most internationally renowned experts in safetyof the dipeptidylpeptidase-4 inhibitor(DPP-4), presented an in-depth analysis of the new medicines in terms of vascular safety. Comprehensives studies are underway; the first to be presented shortly is the TECOS study with sitagliptin, which not only looks at the medicine’s capacity as a DPP-4 inhibitor, but also the positive effects it could have on cardiovascular disease.

The internist Dr. Pedro Conthe, Head of the Internal Medicine Clinic of the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid and a member of the Scientific Committee of the VAM 2013, says “controlling hypoglycaemias through lifestyles and dietary education –even when the patient can detect them– and safe medicines that help prevent high blood sugar levels and that also act on other vascular factors are the keys to handling type 2 diabetes patients”.

Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart or kidney failure, consume 70% of total healthcare expenditure¹, so this is why professionals are being called upon to make efficient use of specialised care.

Dr. Conthe also indicates, “it is fundamental to work together in handling type 2 diabetes patients, especially for patients in the advanced stage. Most of these cases can be handled by the Primary Care physician with adequate support from the specialist”.  During the VAM several specialists and the internist doctor analysed the guidelines for effective patient treatment through a clinical case.

New guidelines for anticoagulation treatment of atrial fibrillation and heart failure

As part of the VAM, Dr. de Caterina, from the Institute of Cardiology G.d’Annuncio University, Chieti-Pescara (Italy) presented the new atrial fibrillation guidelines from the European Cardiology Society. These indicate how to calculate the embolic risk and the risk of haemorrhage in people being treated with anticoagulants. 

At the moment, use of the new anticoagulants is restricted for patients with unsuccessful control through coumarin anticoagulants. The new European guidelines indicate that these new anticoagulants should also be considered in new cases of atrial fibrillation (AF). The cost effectiveness of these treatments was also discussed. Data in Spain show that the new anticoagulants are cost effective in most cases but particularly in those with insufficient control with a high risk of embolism and bleeding[4].

Renal denervation in resistant hypertension

Hypertension that does not respond to anti-hypertension treatment is a problem due to its high prevalence as well as the high risk to the patient. Renal denervation for the treatment of hypertension was presented by Dr. Michael Böhm, from the Saarland University Hospital (Germany), a pioneer in the introduction and development of this treatment.  

According to Dr. Javier Díez Martínez, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Sciences Area at the Applied Medical Research Centre at the Clinical University of Navarra and member of the Scientific Committee of the VAM 2013, “catheter-based renal denervation is becoming a promising treatment option as it produces a significant reduction to blood pressure levels in the long-term (36 months), aiding blood pressure control in 40% of patients[5]”.

Almirall

Almirall is a pharmaceutical company committed to innovate through valuable medicines. Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, it researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes its own R&D and licensed drugs with the aim of improving people’s health and wellbeing now and to future generations. Almirall medicines, focused on respiratory, dermatology, gastrointestinal and pain, are currently in over 70 countries while the company has direct presence in Europe, Mexico and Canada through 13 affiliates.

For more information go to: www.almirall.com

Media information: Ketchum: Carolina Rodríguez-Solano/ Elena nido Tel. 91 788 32 00 carolina.rodriguez@ketchum.com  elena.nido@ketchum.com