Russia maintains a historic low in mortality from cardiovascular diseases

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For the past two years, the Russian Federation has maintained a historic low in mortality from cardiovascular diseases. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Kamkin during the business programme of the 4th National Congress with international participation "National Healthcare" as part of the plenary session "Heart of the Nation 2.0" at the National Centre RUSSIA.

The Congress is organised by the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation and the Roscongress Foundation, with the Russian Research Institute of Health (RIH) of the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia acting as the organisational partner. 

Cardiovascular diseases remain the main cause of premature mortality both in Russia and globally, with coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke playing a key role. The development of such pathologies is influenced by numerous risk factors. Some of them — such as genetic predisposition and age-related changes — are beyond human control. However, others, including unhealthy lifestyles, smoking and high levels of "bad" cholesterol, are classified as preventable (modifiable) and can be corrected.

"Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of death and factors influencing life expectancy in Russia. Therefore, the efforts we are directing towards reducing their prevalence have become key elements in our strategy to improve the quality and longevity of citizens’ lives. Thanks primarily to the implementation of the Federal Project ‘Combating Cardiovascular Diseases’ and the work of the healthcare system as a whole, over the past two years we have maintained a record low mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases," emphasised Deputy Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Kamkin. 

The session also featured Director General of the Chazov National Medical Research Centre of Cardiology of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation and Chief Freelance Cardiologist of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation Sergei Boytsov; Chief Freelance Specialist in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care of the Moscow Department of Healthcare and Director of the Moscow Multidisciplinary Clinical Centre Kommunarka Denis Protsenko; Chairman of the Academic Council of the MEDSI Group and Head of the Centre for Diagnostics and Innovative Medical Technologies of the MEDSI Clinical and Diagnostic Centre Gennady Konovalov; Chairman of the Healthcare Committee of Saint Petersburg Andrei Sarana; and Development Director of the ORBI Stroke Foundation Yekaterina Milova. The session was moderated by VGTRK TV presenter and Editor-in-Chief of the Doctor TV channel Evelina Zakamskaya. 

The new national project "Long and Active Life" aims to become the main driver in achieving the national goal of increasing life expectancy. Among the most successful and dynamically developing measures of the national project is the drug provision programme, which since its launch has helped save tens of thousands of lives, proving its high efficiency. Under the project, patients who have suffered a heart attack, stroke or undergone heart surgery receive free medication for two years. However, in practice, a significant proportion of patients discontinue therapy on their own once initial improvements appear, which increases the risk of recurrent heart attacks and early disability. This situation requires not only additional measures to improve treatment adherence but also broader control over modifiable risk factors, among which dyslipidaemia remains a leading one.

During the discussion, experts addressed several key questions: how to improve early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in patients, what strategies and approaches are needed to enhance the effectiveness of the new project to combat cardiovascular diseases, what factors influence patients’ adherence to prescribed therapy, and which initiatives are required to achieve a large-scale reduction in mortality from cardiac diseases.