Angina patient education initiative launched in Beijing

The "Your Heartache, My Responsibility" patient education initiative has been launched at Peking University First Hospital in Beijing.

This event marked the start of the International Angina Week in China, part of an International campaign to help enhance angina awareness.

Some eight medical experts in the field gave lectures and on-site consultations for hundreds of patients.

Nowadays, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for the Chinese as the number of the patients has reached 290 million, official statistics showed. Among them, 11 million suffer from heart disease.

Angina is a common symptom in patients with coronary heart disease. Although the development of drugs has made great progress in treatment, many patients still suffer regular symptoms and their prognosis remains poor.

According to Li Jianping, deputy director of the Angiocardiopathy Institute at Peking University First Hospital, a significant percentage of patients with myocardial ischemia do not develop a marked pain.

Even if they feel pain, they may exhibit pain in other areas, such as back pain, shoulder pain and arm pain. These misunderstandings cause many patients with angina not to be treated timely, he explained.

"Correcting misunderstandings and strengthening public awareness will greatly improve angina management in China," he added.

Stephane Mascarau, general manager of Servier China, said: "through the latest initiative Servier China demonstrates its commitment to the care of Chinese patients suffering cardiovascular disease and the company will continue to work with the China Cardiovascular Association and healthcare professionals to provide innovative treatments and programs for patients."