Cardiovascular disease kills 200,000 Vietnamese people every year

Over the past 30 years, the risk factors leading to this disease have not decreased but have increased. Besides the classic causes such as smoking, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, obesity is emerging as a leading factor. Experts also warn of a shift in disease patterns as the incidence in young and middle-aged people is increasing. Subjective psychology and lack of preventive measures among young people are creating great pressure on families and society.

“Cardiovascular disease is a completely preventable disease group,” Professor Hung emphasized. He affirmed that early lifestyle changes such as increasing exercise, controlling weight, reducing blood fat and quitting smoking help proactively eliminate up to 80% of the risk of disease.

At the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Public Security Dang Hong Duc assigned 19-8 Hospital the task of building the Cardiovascular Institute into a leading center in Vietnam, approaching regional and world levels. Ministry leaders also asked the unit to build a mechanism to attract talent and invite good experts to work.

The Institute of Cardiology, 19-8 Hospital has been completely upgraded from the Cardiology Department, combining high-quality human resources from the Department of Cardiology, Hanoi Medical University. This is a new model of professional – training – research cooperation in the police health system. Director Pham Manh Hung is a leading expert with nearly 30 years of experience diagnosing and intervening in complex cases.

Currently, Vietnamese cardiovascular medicine has made great progress thanks to the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern techniques. Domestic doctors have mastered many difficult techniques such as congenital heart intervention, complex coronary intervention, or treating arrhythmias with 3D mapping technology, atrial fibrillation ablation using cryotherapy and pulsed electric fields. However, experts believe that the disease burden is still very large if the community does not change strongly from awareness to action.