AIMS: Little is known about the level of public knowledge and concern towards aortic valve disease. Therefore, a survey was conducted to evaluate the awareness of the general population regarding different diseases with special emphasis on aortic stenosis (AS). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 8,860 people aged 60 years or older in nine European countries took part in the survey. Cancer was the disease that respondents were most concerned about (27.5%), while only 1.7% were most concerned about heart valve disease. Seventeen percent (17%) of survey participants claimed to be familiar with heart valve disease, yet only 7% could correctly identify AS; 44.3% of respondents knew the correct number of valves in the human heart. After providing some general information about AS, 41.1% of respondents then said they were more concerned about the condition; 4.5% even recognised the symptoms in themselves. Over half of the respondents (54.2%) claimed that their general practitioners only rarely or never use the stethoscope to check their heart, which may eventually lead to an underdiagnosis of AS. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its high prevalence, high morbidity and mortality, as well as good treatment options, the vast majority of respondents were neither concerned nor fully aware of AS.
AIMS: Little is known about the level of public knowledge and concern towards aortic valve disease. Therefore, a survey was conducted to evaluate the awareness of the general population regarding different diseases with special emphasis on aortic stenosis (AS). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 8,860 people aged 60 years or older in nine European countries took part in the survey. Cancer was the disease that respondents were most concerned about (27.5%), while only 1.7% were most concerned about heart valve disease. Seventeen percent (17%) of survey participants claimed to be familiar with heart valve disease, yet only 7% could correctly identify AS; 44.3% of respondents knew the correct number of valves in the human heart. After providing some general information about AS, 41.1% of respondents then said they were more concerned about the condition; 4.5% even recognised the symptoms in themselves. Over half of the respondents (54.2%) claimed that their general practitioners only rarely or never use the stethoscope to check their heart, which may eventually lead to an underdiagnosis of AS. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its high prevalence, high morbidity and mortality, as well as good treatment options, the vast majority of respondents were neither concerned nor fully aware of AS.
Authors: Luise Gaede; Johannes Blumenstein; Won-Keun Kim; Christoph Liebetrau; Oliver Dörr; Holger Nef; Christian Hamm; Albrecht Elsässer; Helge Möllmann Journal: Clin Res Cardiol Date: 2017-01-11 Impact factor: 5.460
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Authors: Brian R Lindman; Devraj Sukul; Marc R Dweck; Mahesh V Madhavan; Benoit J Arsenault; Megan Coylewright; W David Merryman; David E Newby; John Lewis; Frank E Harrell; Michael J Mack; Martin B Leon; Catherine M Otto; Philippe Pibarot Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 2021-12-07 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: Luise Gaede; Johannes Blumenstein; Christoph Liebetrau; Oliver Dörr; Won-Keun Kim; Holger Nef; Oliver Husser; Albrecht Elsässer; Christian W Hamm; Helge Möllmann Journal: Eur Heart J Date: 2018-02-21 Impact factor: 29.983
Authors: Christian Hengstenberg; Martin Thoenes; Peter Bramlage; Jolanta Siller-Matula; Julia Mascherbauer Journal: Wien Med Wochenschr Date: 2019-09-20