Stakeholder Insight: Atherosclerosis

Summary

Introduction

Atherosclerosis generally begins in childhood and manifests clinically in mid-to-late adulthood. While the mortality from atherosclerotic conditions has declined significantly, in developed countries cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly 50% of all deaths, and within the next 15-20 years, is projected to surpass infectious diseases to become the leading cause of death worldwide.

Scope

• Understand key opinion leaders' (KOL) views on topical issues in the atherosclerosis field
• Provide epidemiological data for the prevalence of atherosclerosis and its associated risk factors and outcomes
• Explore the pipeline and discuss mechanisms of action of developmental agents for the treatment of atherosclerosis
• Assess the value of emerging plasma biomarkers in the identification and treatment of atherosclerosis

Highlights

While screening for sub-clinical stages of atherosclerosis could potentially be beneficial in avoiding future cardiovascular events, a barrier to screening for primary prevention is the cost involved in the screening and the implication of identifying somebody at risk being the decision to begin treatment at an early stage.

It would be possible to envision a screening system based on the standard risk factors, blood biomarkers, and non-invasive imaging methods. Such a screening system would identify asymptomatic individuals at high risk. However this would produce the dilemma on whether catheterization should be performed on individuals with no cardiac symptoms.

For patients with atherosclerosis, diagnosis is usually based on coronary angiography. If significant stenosis is detected, treatment consists of PCI or CABG followed by medical management. Although it is widely acknowledged that the benefits of medical therapy are substantial, room for improvement remains, as exemplified by the PROVE-IT study.

Reasons to Purchase

• Target physicians more effectively, through an understanding of treatment options and prescription choices
• Identify the current clinical practice in terms of diagnosis, medical and surgical care
• Recognize lucrative target populations, in terms of unmet need and patient potential, in order to successfully position developmental products

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