Monday, May 11, 2009

Less than 1 in 5 heart problems are diagnosed before symptoms appear

"Clinicians are missing golden opportunities to identify heart disease before patients start displaying symptoms, according to a study of 13,877 people published in the May issue of UK-based International Journal of Clinical Practice. Researchers from Oregon, Maryland and Delaware, USA, found that just over 11% of the respondents had been diagnosed with heart disease. However, only 19% of those individuals - who had been involved in the ongoing study for two years - said that their heart disease was picked up during routine screening. More than half of the diabetic patients with heart disease who took part in the study (54%) reported that their heart disease was diagnosed when they became symptomatic and a further 22% said it was picked up while they were being treated for other health issues" - Science Centric

No comments: