October 18, 2024 – Experts say the primary care crisis is one of the main reasons the U.S. isn’t making enough progress in improving cardiovascular health.
Cardiologists and clinicians interviewed for two October 15 articles in STAT said the nation’s health care system needs to put more emphasis on preventive care. The article notes that, according to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease and its risk factors are likely to increase by 2050 due to racial and ethnic disparities and an aging population.
Asaf Bitton, executive director of the Ariadne Institute, a health systems innovation center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was among the experts cited. He said there was not enough investment in prevention systems. He believes healthier behaviors can be instilled if health systems prioritize them.
“We know how to provide better cardiology, ambulatory care and primary care,” he said. “And we know how to integrate health behaviors into patient care. Realizing the surface promise will require investment, focus, and discipline on the part of health systems.”
Read the STAT article.
11 experts discuss why the rise in cardiovascular disease has stalled and what can be done about it
In the heart disease expert’s own words: “This is solvable, this is preventable.”