Doctors conduct heart surgery at Thủ Đức Hospital in HCM City.

About 200,000 people die from cardiovascular diseases per year in Việt Nam, accounting for about 33 per cent of total deaths.

The number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases is higher than those from cancer, bronchial asthma and diabetes combined.

The figure was declared at a scientific conference updating new advances in cardiovascular intervention in Việt Nam and around the world, which was held last Saturday.

At the conference, experts assessed that cardiovascular diseases were increasing.

They said that industrial lifestyle, environmental pollution, excess weight and even obesity have caused people to face non-communicable diseases, including endocrine, cancer and especially cardiovascular diseases.

Worldwide in 2021, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death, with cardiovascular deaths leading.

Speaking at the conference, Professor Bùi Đức Phú, director of the Cardiology Ward under the Vinmec healthcare system, said that Việt Nam had now mastered many modern techniques in cardiology, comparable to other countries in the world.

"Application of modern techniques in cardiology helps patients recover faster, have shorter hospital stays and reduce treatment costs,” said Phú.

“The work brings a gentle experience to the patients, because even though intensive intervention techniques must be performed, the patient does not have to stay in the hospital for a long time," he said.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor Nguyễn Lân Hiếu, director of the Hà Nội Medical University Hospital, assessed that Vietnamese doctors’ skills in cardiology were strong and include updated modern techniques from around the world.

Vietnamese doctors not only integrate with the development of world medicine but also find new directions, contributing to the development of world cardiology and congenital heart disease treatment, according to Hiếu.

Professor Phú said that the conference attracted the participation of leading Vietnamese cardiologists and many interventional cardiovascular experts from Cleveland Clinic – the second health system in the world according to the Newsweek's 2023 ranking.

He said that in addition to advanced techniques in cardiovascular intervention, Cleveland Clinic experts chaired a session on special intervention offering very useful experiences for specialised doctors.

The session featured a report on a new technique to treat aortic valve stenosis with percutaneous intervention.

Instead of having to undergo open heart surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass, mechanical ventilation and the ensuing long recovery period, patients now only use light sedatives for a gentle procedure lasting a few hours.

They will have no scars, very little pain and can be discharged from hospital after two or three days.

Suma Thomas, deputy chairman of operations and strategy of the Cleveland Cardiovascular & Thoracic Institute under the Cleveland Clinic health system, said that through cooperation, many complex heart disease cases in Việt Nam received the optimal treatment plan under consultation with Cleveland Clinic's world experts.

Experts recommend each person to practise a healthy lifestyle, limit fast and greasy food, increase green vegetables and fruits intake, exercise regularly every day, and control risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes to prevent cardiovascular diseases. — VNS