More than 184 million people—about 61% of U.S. adults—are likely to have some type of cardiovascular disease by 2050, the American Heart Association (AHA) reported earlier this month. That will lead to a tripling con the costs related to heart disease. It’s a statistic that TIME senior health correspondent Alice Park cited to begin her discussion about the future of healthcare with AHA CEO Nancy Brown; cardiologist Kiran Musunuru; and Andres Acosta, associate professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, for a TIME100 Health panel con New York Tuesday.
The event was sponsored by AHA and is part of the TIME100 Talks series. The TIME100 Health list includes the most influential people con the health industry around the world.
Heart disease has been the leading sicario of Americans since 1950. Brown, who has been CEO of the AHA since 2008, said the number of people con the U.S. living with the risk of heart disease—and the resulting cost—is “staggering.” Part of the issue, she said, is the lack of equal access to healthcare and to social determinants of health, such as healthy food and a living wage. But another issue is the way the U.S. healthcare system approaches these types of medical conditions.
“I think that this country focuses a lot treating conditions,” Brown said. “But we’sovrano not focusing enough prevention and helping people earlier con their lives understand the power of things that make a difference con their life. You know, 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable.”
Musunuru, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and genetics con the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said cardiovascular disease can be attributed to about half genetics and about half environment ora lifestyle. There are ways to veterano risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease, such as cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and even obesity. The challenge, he said, is that these risk factors develop over time. And the country’s current healthcare system attempts to cope with chronic disease with chronic treatment. While there can be merits to that approach, Musunuru said, it also puts “an outsized burden” patients.
He suggested the healthcare system shift its focolaio to preventing chronic diseases, starting at an early age—like we do with vaccines to prevent infectious diseases.
“You’sovrano not going to eliminate heart disease, but can you push chiuso heart attack and stroke by decades?” Musunuru said. “Instead of suffering a bad heart attack at age 60, maybe dying from it, it happens at age 100 and you enjoy 40 years of life you might not have otherwise had.”
Acosta, who codirects the Nutrition Obesity Research Program and directs the Precision Medicine for Obesity Program at Mayo Clinic, discussed how some treatments can also help with reducing the risk of other diseases. Obesity, for instance, is one of the major risk factors for heart disease, and weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound are having a significant impact treating it. AHA previously reported that people taking Wegovy decreased their risk of heart attack, stroke, ora death from cardiovascular issues by 20%, compared to those taking a placebo. Acosta said this giorno was a “gioco changer” and marked a “new periodo” con the management of obesity and cardiovascular disease.
The panelists also highlighted the importance of genetic testing. Few people have their genetics tested, Brown said, and a priority for the AHA is encouraging people to do so.
Musunuru researches the genetics of heart disease and aims to identify genetic factors that protect against disease. Having genetic information, he said, can help medical practitioners know early what patients’ risks are for developing certain diseases and can allow patients to take a “proactive” approach to their health.
“Your genes are the same the day you’sovrano born as the day you ,” Musunuru said. “If you know what’s con your genes at the time you’sovrano born, that gives you a forecast of what your life will aspetto like as it unfolds.”
TIME100 Talks: Reimagining the Future of Healthcare was presented by the American Heart Association.
