Abstract

Indigenous stents: examining the clinical data on new technologies

Author(s): AS Kumar & V Hariram

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in India. An estimated 47 million Indians had coronary artery disease (CAD) in 2010 and another estimated 2.3 million died from CAD compared with 404,000 in the USA. Approximately 50% of reported infarctions occur in Indian men under the age of 50 years, with 25% under the age of 40 years. In addition, some 30–40% of cardiovascular deaths occur between 35 and 64 years of age. An estimated 9.2 million productive years of life were lost to CVD in India in 2000, a number that is expected to increase to nearly 18 million by 2030 (ten-times the rate in the USA). The World Bank has concluded that in India, the disability adjusted life years lost due to ischemic heart disease is projected to more than double in the next 20 years. In 1990, coronary heart disease was responsible for 5.6 million disability adjusted life years lost in men and 4.5 million in women. This is projected to increase to 10.5 in men and 7.7 million in women by 2010. The economic impact was estimated to be US$9 billion in national income from premature deaths due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes in 2005 alone, with cumulative projected estimates of US$237 billion by 2015.