Solving for heart valve disease is solving for healthy and active aging

Early screening of heart valve disease saves public health care systems resources, but prevalent ageism delays diagnosis, limits care, and leads to avoidable costs and impacts on people’s lives.

The risk of heart valve disease increases significantly after age 65 and reaches 12.5 percent after the age of 75. Age-specific mortality from heart valve disease rises exponentially at older ages, peaking at age 85. This makes heart valve disease an important challenge globally:

Up to 2.5% of the general population and 13% of people over the age of 75 are thought to be living with heart valve disease. Heart Valve Disease prevalence is rising rapidly due to the ageing of the population and it has been described as ‘the next cardiac epidemic’.
It is estimated that the number of people living with heart valve disease will double by 2040 and triple by 2060. The rate of mortality in untreated, severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis, the most common type of heart valve disease, is between 25% and 50% per year.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in HVD

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted health systems and care pathways, including detection and treatment for heart valve disease:

The pandemic caused delayed or deferred routine visits.
Concerns about stethoscope usage and the potential for COVID-19 contamination could further constrain systematic early detection.
The pandemic has led to delays for surgical procedures to address heart valve disease:
- A study from the U.K. reports a “rapid and significant drop in TAVI and SAVR activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for elective cases.”
- In the U.S., a study found cardiac events and mortality occurred for patients with severe aortic stenosis when TAVI was delayed due to COVID-19, with 35 percent of patients in the study experiencing a cardiac event within three months.

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solving for heart valve disease is solving for healthy and active aging

We call on policymakers; health system leaders; patients, caregivers, and their advocates; healthcare providers; and other stakeholders to prioritize and strengthen responses to heart valve disease. Together, a multi-sector coalition of leaders and organizations can combat ageist stereotypes that constrain care, improve early detection and diagnosis, and ensure increased and widespread access to life-saving interventions.

For more information, please contact: info@globalhearthub.org

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