Indians have one of highest rates of mortality after diagnosis of heart failure, greater than that of people in several developing countries in the world and it is important to keep a track on health with regular examinations. This was stated by Dr Karun Behal, Senior Consultant Cardiology Fortis Hospital Mohali while addressing a symposium on heart failure at Shimla on August 11. 

He said that according to an independent report as many as 20 per cent of the patients come to the hospital because of heart failure and India houses about 16 per cent more than 20 million of the world population and 25 per cent of world coronary artery disease patients. The most common cause of heart failure is rheumatic heart disease and cardio artery diseases.

''Heart Failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. the heart doesn't stop beating as happen in a cardiac arrest but rather weaken so that it is unable to pump out all the blood that enters in the chambers either due to weakness or stiffness of heart muscle," he explained.

Heart failure patients in India had one of the highest mortality rates after one year of diagnosis at 23 per cent. This was more than mortality rates of patients in South East Asia (15 per cent), China seven per cent, South America nine per cent and West Asia nine per cent.

Only patients from countries in Africa had a higher mortality rate at 34 per cent. The study also highlighted that heart failure patients in India, Africa and South East Asia were approximately ten per cent younger than patients in India. Africa and Southeast Asia were approximately 10 yrs younger than patients in the US and Europe. 

To prevent the situation to go worse, doctors advised regular medical examination for quick treatment. According to Dr Behal, one of the major reason for the high mortality rate among Indians was that patients reached hospitals at a later stage of the disease along with an associated high prevalence of risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension. ''In other countries, patient may be brought to hospitals earlier. Access to health-care and compliance to long-term treatment is also a problem in India as heart failure patients needs to take life-long medications," he added.