SAFE AT HEART

Aims to Drive Down Cardiovascular Disease in the Gulf

"Conducting Gulf-wide research programmes in order to understand the local situation is important to us and we are happy to be partnering with the Emirates Cardiac Society on this project," said Tarek Rabah, President, AstraZeneca Gulf. "CEPHEUS is part of the Safe At Heart program, which is currently running across the Gulf. Safe At Heart is an educational initiative that is focused on building an awareness of heart disease and the importance of controlling cholesterol levels. It aims to both educate the public and provide educational programmes for physicians in order to decrease the levels of heart disease in the Gulf region," he added.

"The Gulf Program for Better Cholesterol Control comprises two major initiatives; the CEPHEUS research project and the Safe at Heart educational program, both of which aim to slash the incidence of heart disease in the Gulf."

The CEPHEUS research project involves monitoring 5,300 patients across the Gulf who are taking lipid lowering medication. It was devised to assess whether their drug regimes are being effective and is the largest such survey in the region to date. The study forms part of a larger, earlier European project that looked at 15,000 patients, with the results revealing that only 55.3 per cent of those receiving drugs for elevated cholesterol levels were successful in reaching their treatment goals. The study found that poor compliance often resulted when the therapy was frequently changed, or doses increased and one of the conclusions drawn was that patients should be better informed and encouraged to stick firmly to their treatment regime.

The Safe At Heart campaign was rolled out during the recent Family Health Festival, which ran in conjunction with the Dubai Shopping Festival 2010. During the month-long event, educational activities, free health checkups and cholesterol testing was made available to the public at various malls and shopping centres across the emirate. Under the program, the public is being educated about the two types of cholesterol; the good kind (HDL), which helps to remove lipids from the body, preventing them from building up in blood vessels and the bad kind (LDL), which can lead to blockages in the arteries. It is being advised that a 10 per cent overall reduction in cholesterol levels can cut heart disease by half, with scientists saying that men over 40 years of age (a group who are particularly at risk) only have to reduce their cholesterol levels by 10 per cent in order to lower their risk of heart disease by 50 per cent.

Safe At Heart continues in April, with this second phase of the campaign targeting patients who are already on cholesterol lowering treatment. Important information gleaned from the CEPHEUS study, which revealed that some of these patients were not complying properly with their treatment regimes, will form a central aspect of the strategy to address the issue. Planned activities will focus on raising awareness of the importance of continuing to lead a healthy lifestyle and to adhere to prescribed medication in order to protect the heart. A timetable of events will take place in selected hospitals and clinics across the UAE, with continuous medical education programs for medical professionals also being set up. These will focus on the importance of treating patients according to international guidelines and are being made available to physicians across the country.

It is hoped that Safe At Heart’s multi-faceted approach will soon bring health dividends in the form of a reduction in cardiovascular diseases in the Gulf. "Safe At Heart is educating the medical community, the public at large as well as patients with existing high cholesterol levels in order to significantly reduce the incidence of heart disease in the region," said Tarek Rabah. "Community programs such as this reach out to people in public settings and can make a huge difference to individuals’ health, something that has incalculable benefits for the wider society," he added.