European public are unaware of heart failure symptoms
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《英国医生杂志》
Only 3% of nearly 8000 randomly selected people from nine European countries could identify heart failure from a description of typical symptoms. This is despite 6% of people claiming that someone in their family had had the condition, an international survey of public awareness published in the European Heart Journal online on 31 August has found (http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehi447).
The lead author, Willem Remme, professor of medicine and director of the Sticares Cardiovascular Research Institute, Rhoon, in the Netherlands, described that the low awareness as "shocking" and "putting lives at risk."
"It has serious implications for individuals and for public health throughout Europe," he said. "If the public don抰 understand how common and how life threatening this condition is then they are not likely to seek medical help early, and they are also unlikely to demand appropriate measures from healthcare providers."
The level of awareness was described as dismal compared with that for transient ischaemic attack, which half of those surveyed identified from a list of symptoms, or angina, which almost a third correctly identified.
The international team of authors, the Study Group on Heart Failure Awareness and Perception in Europe (SHAPE4), is committed in a second phase of the project to educate family doctors and the public and to improve health care for heart failure. This first phase survey involved 7958 people between ages 25-45 and 65-85 from nearly 48 000 randomly selected households. Participants answered 32 questions in a questionnaire that had earlier been tested in two pilot studies in four countries.
Participants showed serious misperceptions about heart failure, for example:
A third thought the condition was a normal consequence of ageing. Although heart failure has many causes, ageing of itself is not one of them
Nearly a third thought modern drugs could not prevent heart failure from developing, although responses varied between countries. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and b blockers can be very effective and are underprescribed
More than half thought cancer was more prevalent. Although true for all cancers combined, more patients are admitted to hospital with heart failure than with any of the most common cancers
Only 29% thought breathlessness, tiredness, or swollen ankles were severe symptoms of heart failure, although not recognising these symptoms could lead to delayed diagnosis of heart failure.
The responses from participants in different countries had key differences. In Italy and the United Kingdom, more than 90% of respondents were aware of the term "heart failure," compared with just more than 60% in the Netherlands. In Poland and Romania, 90% and 83% respectively were positive about the role of drugs in reducing mortality and improving wellbeing. In contrast, 38% in Germany and 43% in the Netherlands were the most sceptical of the drugs?possible role.(Quebec David Spurgeon)
The lead author, Willem Remme, professor of medicine and director of the Sticares Cardiovascular Research Institute, Rhoon, in the Netherlands, described that the low awareness as "shocking" and "putting lives at risk."
"It has serious implications for individuals and for public health throughout Europe," he said. "If the public don抰 understand how common and how life threatening this condition is then they are not likely to seek medical help early, and they are also unlikely to demand appropriate measures from healthcare providers."
The level of awareness was described as dismal compared with that for transient ischaemic attack, which half of those surveyed identified from a list of symptoms, or angina, which almost a third correctly identified.
The international team of authors, the Study Group on Heart Failure Awareness and Perception in Europe (SHAPE4), is committed in a second phase of the project to educate family doctors and the public and to improve health care for heart failure. This first phase survey involved 7958 people between ages 25-45 and 65-85 from nearly 48 000 randomly selected households. Participants answered 32 questions in a questionnaire that had earlier been tested in two pilot studies in four countries.
Participants showed serious misperceptions about heart failure, for example:
A third thought the condition was a normal consequence of ageing. Although heart failure has many causes, ageing of itself is not one of them
Nearly a third thought modern drugs could not prevent heart failure from developing, although responses varied between countries. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and b blockers can be very effective and are underprescribed
More than half thought cancer was more prevalent. Although true for all cancers combined, more patients are admitted to hospital with heart failure than with any of the most common cancers
Only 29% thought breathlessness, tiredness, or swollen ankles were severe symptoms of heart failure, although not recognising these symptoms could lead to delayed diagnosis of heart failure.
The responses from participants in different countries had key differences. In Italy and the United Kingdom, more than 90% of respondents were aware of the term "heart failure," compared with just more than 60% in the Netherlands. In Poland and Romania, 90% and 83% respectively were positive about the role of drugs in reducing mortality and improving wellbeing. In contrast, 38% in Germany and 43% in the Netherlands were the most sceptical of the drugs?possible role.(Quebec David Spurgeon)