KARACHI: A local pharmaceutical firm in partnership with the Tabba Heart Institute on Saturday formally launched the first-ever Pakistan study on premature coronary atherosclerosis in young adults called Pak-Sehat.

Launching the study at a local hotel, health experts and medical scientists highlighted the effectiveness of the study and called it a timely initiative from Getz Pharma and Tabba Institute which would benefit the country’s health system in the longer run.

They said that that the Pak-Sehat project was the largest, first-of-its-kind and 10-year nationwide longitudinal cohort study on atherosclerotic risk assessment in the healthy young Pakistani population.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, causing approximately 32 per cent of annual deaths, said the experts.

Low-income and middle-income countries, they added, in particular, are experiencing the highest prevalence and mortality rates of cardiovascular disease.

“This research study will help determine risk factors for coronary heart disease so that early detection can be done, and disease can be prevented rather than treated,” said Dr Bashir Hanif of the Tabba Heart Institute, who is also the principal investigator of the Pak-Sehat study.

Dr Wajiha Javed, head of Getz Pharma’s public health & research, shared the project brief of the study with the media and health professionals.

“This 10-year joint venture will help determine risk factors for coronary heart disease so that early detection can be done and disease can be prevented rather than treated,” she said.

The experts said that atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The risk of ASCVD, they said, varies among different ethnicities. However, the risk is fourfold in the South Asian population compared to other races, they added.

The traditional risk factors associated with premature ASCVD are also alarming in the Pakistani population, with 50pc of adults suffering from hypertension, of which 70pc are unaware of their disease status.

“The findings from a study of this scale can provide groundbreaking results. It would help in informing future health policy targeting the native Pakistani population and it would allow early interventions for patients with risk of ASCVD from a younger age,” said Dr Wajiha.

She said that the initiative aimed to contribute to the growing research database in Pakistan and promote early screening and prevention for cardiovascular disease in the country.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2021