During a Roundtable held in July 2019, by the Galicia Sur Health Research Institute and the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital of Vigo, several experts convened to discuss the current trends in ageing and the consequences of structural heart disease (SHD) in Spain and in Europe.
Representatives from the Galician Healthcare Service, the Galician Cardiology Society, and representatives from cardiac surgery, interventionist cardiology, and elderly groups agreed on the need to tackle SHD in order to prevent functional decline, in an increasingly ageing society. Galicia is the region in Spain where 25% of people are already over 65 years old, and represents the highest aged region in the country of Spain. In parallela Spain is set become the second country worldwide in terms of life expectancy.
The President of the Galician Cardiology Society, Dr. Óscar Díaz, alerted the audience to the possibility that in future decades amongst the health conditions directly related to ageing, SHD could become a global epidemic for people over 65 years old in the next decades.
Mr. Ángel de Oro Prol, Ccoordinator of the Health Area of the Spanish Confederation of Old Age Organisations, stressed the importance of public administrations in promoting active and healthy ageing, including tackling life-threatening conditions such as SHD.
The event, was moderated by Dr. Carlos Rodríguez Pascual, Ccoordinator of the Ageing research Group of the Galicia Sur Health Research Institute and Head of Geriatrics atVigo’s University Hospital. Participants included Dr. Alfonso Alonso, Subdirector General of Assistance Planning and Organisational Innovation atthe Galician Healthcare Service (SERGAS), Mr. Ángel de Oro Prol (CEOMA), Dr. Óscar Díaz Castro (SOGACAR), Dr. José Cuenca Castillo, Head of Cardiac Surgery Service atthe University Hospital Complex in A Coruña, and Dr. Andrés Íñiguez Romo, Coordinator of the Cardiovascular Research Group at the Galicia Sur Health Research Institute and Chief Head of Cardiology Service at the University Hospital Complex in Vigo.
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