Vivek Chaturvedi

Methods for establishing a surveillance system for cardiovascular diseases in Indian industrial populations

OBJECTIVE To establish a surveillance network for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors in industrial settings and estimate the risk factor burden using standardized tools. METHODS We conducted a baseline cross-sectional survey (as part of a CVD surveillance programme) of industrial populations from 10 companies across India, situated in close proximity to medical colleges that served as study centres. The study subjects were employees (selected by age and sex stratified random sampling) and their family members. Information on behavioural, clinical and biochemical determinants was obtained through standardized methods (questionnaires, clinical measurements and biochemical analysis). Data collation and analyses were done at the national coordinating centre. FINDINGS We report the prevalence of CVD risk factors among individuals aged 20-69 years (n = 19 973 for the questionnaire survey, n = 10 442 for biochemical investigations); mean age was 40 years. The overall prevalence of most risk factors was high, with 50.9% of men and 51.9% of women being overweight, central obesity was observed among 30.9% of men and 32.8% of women, and 40.2% of men and 14.9% of women reported current tobacco use. Self-reported prevalence of diabetes (5.3%) and hypertension (10.9%) was lower than when measured clinically and biochemically (10.1% and 27.7%, respectively). There was marked heterogeneity in the prevalence of risk factors among the study centres. CONCLUSION There is a high burden of CVD risk factors among industrial populations across India. The surveillance system can be used as a model for replication in India as well as other developing countries.

Educational status and cardiovascular risk profile in Indians

The inverse graded relationship of education and risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD) has been reported from Western populations. To examine whether risk factors of CHD are predicted by level of education and influenced by the level of urbanization in Indian industrial populations, a cross-sectional survey (n = 19,973; response rate, 87.6%) was carried out among employees and their family members in 10 medium-to-large industries in highly urban, urban, and periurban regions of India. Information on behavioral, clinical, and biochemical risk factors of CHD was obtained through standardized instruments, and educational status was assessed in terms of the highest educational level attained. Data from 19,969 individuals were used for analysis. Tobacco use and hypertension were significantly more prevalent in the low- (56.6% and 33.8%, respectively) compared with the high-education group (12.5% and 22.7%, respectively; P < 0.001). However, dyslipidemia prevalence was significantly higher in the high-education group (27.1% as compared with 16.9% in the lowest-education group; P < 0.01). When stratified by the level of urbanization, industrial populations located in highly urbanized centers were observed to have an inverse graded relationship (i.e., higher-education groups had lower prevalence) for tobacco use, hypertension, diabetes, and overweight, whereas in less-urbanized locations, we found such a relationship only for tobacco use and hypertension. This study indicates the growing vulnerability of lower socioeconomic groups to CHD. Preventive strategies to reduce major CHD risk factors should focus on effectively addressing these social disparities.

Impact of a Worksite Intervention Program on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Demonstration Project in an Indian Industrial Population

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in many regions of the world ([1][1]). Elevated blood pressure, blood sugar, serum cholesterol, body mass index, and tobacco use, all established risk factors for CVD, have a direct and linear relationship with CVD ([2–7][2]). All of

Differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in urban and rural India: a problem of urbanization:

*Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India †Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA ‡Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in Developing Countries & Division of Hospital Medicine, Hackley Hospital, Muskegon, MI, USA §Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi 110029, India

Prevalence and determinants of diabetes mellitus in the Indian industrial population

Aim   To highlight the regional difference in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and to explore determinants in variability in the Indian industrial population.

Distribution of 10-year and lifetime predicted risk for cardiovascular disease in the Indian Sentinel Surveillance Study population (cross-sectional survey results)

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines recommend lifetime risk stratification for primary prevention of CVD, but no such risk stratification has been performed in India to date. Methods The authors estimated short-term and lifetime predicted CVD risk among 10 054 disease-free, adult Indians in the 20–69-year age group who participated in a nationwide risk factor surveillance study. The study population was then stratified into high short-term (≥10% 10-year risk or diabetes), low short-term (<10%)/high lifetime and low short-term/low lifetime CVD risk groups. Results The mean age (SD) of the study population (men=63%) was 40.8±10.9 years. High short-term risk for coronary heart disease was prevalent in more than one-fifth of the population (23.5%, 95% CI 22.7 to 24.4). Nearly half of individuals with low short-term predicted risk (48.2%, 95% CI 47.1 to 49.3) had a high predicted lifetime risk for CVD. While the proportion of individuals with all optimal risk factors was 15.3% (95% CI 14.6% to 16.0%), it was 20.6% (95% CI 18.7% to 22.6%) and 8.8% (95% CI 7.7% to 10.5%) in the highest and lowest educational groups, respectively. Conclusion Approximately one in two men and three in four women in India had low short-term predicted risks for CVD in this national study, based on aggregate risk factor burden. However, two in three men and one in two women had high lifetime predicted risks for CVD, highlighting a key limitation of short-term risk stratification.

Are western guidelines good enough for Indians? My name is Borat.

Physicians in an attempt to give their patients the best possible care need to be updated on the evolving body of scientific research, trials, case reports, and combine this evidence with their own clinical experience keeping in mind each individual patients circumstances and preferences. To address this felt need, guidelines are systematically developed statements designed to help clinicians make management decisions. While a multitude of guidelines are available from developed world they might not exactly fit into developing world context. Thus a host of fresh guidelines might be required to fill this void or the existing guidelines modified (supplemented, altered or deleted) to be relevant to this part of the world.

Heart failure in children: Clinical aspect and management

Heart failure (HF) is a complex syndrome, with several definitions, the commonest being “an abnormality of cardiac function whereby heart in unable to pump at a rate commensurate with the requirement of the metabolizing tissues, or does so only at elevated filling pressures”. In case of children, this requirement includes growth and development. Unlike as seen in adults, HF in children is commonly due to structural heart disease and reversible conditions. Thus the treatment for HF is commonly required for short term only. The overall outcome with HF is better in children than in adults. While the general principles on management are similar to those in adults, the evidence for the use of drugs in children is less convincing. It requires a judicious balance of extrapolation from adult medicine, keeping in mind that children are not small adults.

Heart failure in India: The INDUS (INDia Ukieri Study) study

Introduction: There are few data on heart failure (HF) burden and none available on the community prevalence of HF in India. We conducted a study aimed at determining the HF prevalence in a rural community as well as tertiary hospital care setting in North India. We also reviewed the existing literature regarding the estimated and projected prevalence of HF in India. Methodology: All adults (>20 years) with chronic breathlessness in six villages under a primary health care center in Northern India were identified and evaluated with standardized questionnaire and physical examination by trained health care workers. HF was diagnosed by standardized criteria and a transthoracic echocardiogram was performed in all subjects. In the hospital study, 500 consecutive patients presenting to our tertiary referral hospital were evaluated for the diagnosis of HF. For the systematic review, all published studies addressing HF or the burden of risk factors in India were identified. Projections for the absolute HF burden were made using local data and global studies of HF incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Results: Among the surveyed rural adult population of 10,163 patients, chronic breathlessness was present in 128 (1.3%). HF was present in 9% (n = 12), of which 67% (n = 8) had preserved left ventricular (LV) systolic function and 33% (n = 4) had LV systolic dysfunction. Therefore, the prevalence of HF in this general community was 1.2/1000. All patients with HF and preserved ejection fraction had poorly controlled hypertension. In the hospital study, of 500 consecutive patients, 20.4% had HF. Rheumatic heart disease (52%) was the most common cause followed by ischemic heart disease (17%). The mean age of presentation was 39 ± 16 years. The prevalence of HF in the outpatient department patients was 22.5% below 30 years and 14.9% above 50 years, reflecting the young population of HF. For the estimates concerning HF burden in India, projections were made using both age-specific extrapolations from developing countries and data regarding development of HF in the presence of risk factors. The estimated prevalence of HF is about 1% of the total population or about 8–10 million individuals. The estimated mortality attributable to HF is about 0.1–0.16 million individuals per year. Conclusions: While our hospital data are consistent with the HF burden and etiology expected in a government tertiary hospital setting, our community-based study is the first of its kind reported from India. The community study demonstrates a surprisingly low prevalence of symptomatic HF in the surveyed villages. This could be partially explained by the rural farming-based community setting but is also likely due to under-reporting of symptoms. Our review of the projected national estimates suggests an alarming burden of HF in India despite a younger population than the developed nations. A significant proportion of this burden may be preventable with better screening and early and adequate treatment of the risk factors.

Effect of Ivabradine vs Atenolol on Heart Rate and Effort Tolerance in Patients With Mild to Moderate Mitral Stenosis and Normal Sinus Rhythm

BACKGROUND Patients with mitral stenosis become symptomatic at a higher heart rate. We studied the comparative efficacy of heart rate control with ivabradine or atenolol and its effect on effort tolerance in patients with mild-moderate mitral stenosis in normal sinus rhythm. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifty patients with mild-moderate mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm were randomized to receive ivabradine or atenolol for 4 weeks each in an open-label, randomized, crossover design trial. A 24-hour Holter and treadmill test was performed at baseline and after each active treatment period. In the first treatment period, 23 patients were allocated to ivabradine (22 analyzed), and 27 were allocated to atenolol (26 analyzed). In the second period, all 48 patients were analyzed. Ivabradine increased the mean total exercise time to 500.7 seconds (SD 99.7) from a baseline of 410.3 seconds (SD 115.4), and atenolol increased it to 463.7 seconds (SD 113.1). The point estimate (absolute difference between ivabradine and atenolol) was 35.27 seconds (95% CI 15.24-55.20; P = .0009). The point estimate for decrease in the maximum exercise heart rate and mean heart rate were 7.64/min (95% CI 0.37-15.9; P = .04) and 5.61/min (95% CI 2.51-8.71; P = .0007), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Ivabradine is more effective than atenolol for effort related symptoms in patients with mild-moderate mitral stenosis and normal sinus rhythm.