HCM CITY — The country’s medical facilities are using the latest procedures to treat cardio-vascular diseases, according to the Việt Nam Heart Institute in Hà Nội.

They include transcatheter aortic valve implantation, mitral valve repair, bio-absorbable polymer drug eluting stents which can reduce the possibility of blood vessels narrowing again, and stem cell therapy.

The country has nearly 45 centres that perform cardiac surgeries, Dr Nguyễn Ngọc Quang of the Institute told the angioplasty summit held in HCM City last week by the Interventional Cardiology Association of HCM City.

As many as 5,000 patients get catheter interventions for congenital, structural and valvular heart disease every year.

But a mere tenth of people with heart diseases get treated, Quang said.

An estimated 200,000-300,000 people suffer from heart diseases every year, he said.

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the country, often caused by hypertension, smoking, and dyslipidemia, he said.

The country sees these risk factors increase in adults year after year, he added.

According to the Việt Nam Heart Society, one in every three Vietnamese adults is at risk of getting cardiovascular diseases.

The country also faces ageing and cardiovascular diseases among seniors, he said, adding this is a “health burden”.

The country’s 45 medical centres that perform cardiac procedures estimate that in the last five years nearly 70 per cent of all heart patients suffered from acute coronary syndrome, Quang said.

More than 200 cardiologists attended the summit, which was organised by Hoàng Đức Company, a distributor of medical devices made by US company Boston Scientific.

Prof Nguyễn Lân Việt, chairman of the Việt Nam Heart Society, said keeping abreast of the latest developments in cardiac intervention is necessary for Vietnamese cardiologists to be confident about treating serious cases. —VNS