Program seeks to help patients get cardiac pain under control

The European Society of Cardiology, Beijing Society of Cardiology, Ali Health and Servier China launched a campaign on Monday to raise public awareness of coronary heart disease patients' angina symptoms and quality of life.

Called "Get angina under control -- 2020 Angina April Week", the campaign consists of three projects: "Learn the Language of the Heart" public service announcements, the care and management program for patients with chronic disease, and continuing education for healthcare professionals.

Stephane Mascarau, general manager of Servier China, said the company set the objective to incorporate the latest in digital healthcare technology in designing the campaign,

Patients will be able to have discussions with healthcare professionals, and order and receive medications online through the campaign, which he hopes will serve as a strong reassurance for patients.

Since the beginning of 2020, many coronary heart disease patients have avoided visiting hospitals regularly due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Insufficient treatment and delay in disease management have created severe challenges for cardiovascular disease control and prevention.

Studies have found that about one-third of post-surgery coronary heart disease patients still suffer from cardiac ischemia or angina, and approximately 40 percent of patients with angina pectoris have symptoms that are not typical.

If the angina continues or not properly treated and managed, this will not only increase the risk of cardiovascular events, but also put extra financial pressure on patients and severely affect their quality of life.

Ma Changsheng, chief of the Cardiology Department at Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated with Capital Medical University, said it is particularly important for patients to carefully distinguish and discover in time relevant symptoms and signs while make adequate doctor-patient communication and develop optimal disease management programs.

The campaign is taking advantage of the internet to actively explore new models of managing angina, according to Ma, who said the project supports the new model of "diagnosis first in hospitals – follow-up visits outside hospitals – online management", so that patients don't have to visit hospitals frequently.

The campaign's patient care and management project will run until September. More than 2,000 patients are expected to get involved. They will be reminded to take their medication via short messages and phone calls. In addition, online platforms will be available for follow-up visits and consultation to benefit 72,000 patients.

A continuing education program for community doctors will open at the same time to interpret literature and share treatment and management cases.

Wang Qian, executive director of Ali Health, said the program for cardiology patients will convene 100 established doctors from tertiary class hospitals to give patients free consultation on Taobao app's Ali Health Channel and Yidiegu app from April 27 to May 2, and there will also be several live webcasts on disease awareness to answer patients' questions.