Health

The Cost of Silence: Cardiovascular disease in Asia

December 05, 2018

Asia

December 05, 2018

Asia
Rashmi Dalai

Contributor

Rashmi started her career on Wall Street with time spent in both convertible bonds sales and trading at Goldman Sachs and structured derivative products at Lehman Brothers. She left to form her own healthcare consulting practice, and spent over a decade advising a wide range of clients from large university hospitals to start-ups on business and financial strategies. Her role included taking interim COO and CFO positions for clients managing periods of high growth or other business transitions.

In 2007, she began splitting her time between the US and Asia (China, Indonesia, and Singapore) and expanded her consulting business to include advisory on business communications strategies and global thought leadership. Prior to joining The Economist Group, she was Head of Strategic Planning at Weber Shandwick, a global communications and PR firm, in Singapore.

Rashmi holds a Bachelors in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University with a concentration in International Finance and Banking. 

The Cost of Silence: Cardiovascular disease in Asia is a report by The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare. It provides a study of the economic impact of CVD risk factors on the following Asian markets: China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Specifically, the study captures the cost of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke. IHD, also called coronary heart disease (CHD) or coronary artery disease, is the term given to heart problems caused by narrowed heart (coronary) arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, which can lead to stable angina, unstable angina, myocardial infarctions or heart attacks, and sudden cardiac death. Stroke is characterised by the sudden loss of blood circulation to an area of the brain due to blockage of brain vessels, or a haemorrhage or blood clot.

This study further combines an evidence review of existing research on CVDs and primary research in the form of expert interviews.

Key findings of the report are as follow:

  • The rising incidence of CVD poses a substantial challenge to Asia-Pacific markets
  • The four main modifiable cardiovascular risk factors pose a communications challenge for governments and health agencies.
  • Hypertension is the risk factor that contributes the highest cost.
  • The costs of CVDs are not fixed. Greater awareness and policymaker attention can substantially reduce CVD costs as many obstacles and corresponding solutions have been identified as effective.
  • Policy options for primary prevention include choice “nudges”.
  • Effective secondary prevention can also significantly affect costs and outcomes.

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