Factors vital in promoting long and good quality of life are highlighted in the fourth edition of Unilab Inc.’s Experts’ Convergence for Health Outcomes Summit.
With the theme “Longevity and Quality of Life Matters,” the ECHO Summit invited four of the recognized “rock stars of the medical world” to share insights with over a thousand Filipino doctors who participated in the event.
“Life expectancy in 2015 of Filipino men was 68.8 percent and women at 74.3. With more of the population reaching this stage, it is important that good health and quality of life is maintained by each and every Filipino,” said Dr. Ma. Rosario Sevilla, ECHO Summit 2018 organizing committee chair.
The experts
Professor Zachary Bloomgarden, endocrinologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, USA, discussed the topic “Diabetes Care for the Older Patient: What are the Appropriate Goals.” Meanwhile, cardiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, USA, Professor Nanette Wenger delved into “Geriatric Cardiology: Octogenarian Pearls.”
Professor Natan Bornstein, a neurologist at Tel-Aviv University in Israel, tackled the topic “Optimizing Cognitive Recovery and Managing Behavioral Complications in Post-Stroke Treatment.”
Completing this year’s ECHO Summit speakers was Dr. Alessandra Graziottin, who is currently with the Gynecologist, Menopause, Oncology, and Sexology Department of the H. San Raffaelle Resnati in Milan, Italy. She talked about the topic “From Menopause to Smart Aging: What you need to tell your parents.”
Information sharing
At the summit, Bloomgarden showed the importance of individualized treatment approaches for diabetics aged over 65. While diabetes is associated with reduction in life expectancy, the endocrinologist believes that an older individual should not be immediately deemed as not suitable for intensive treatment.
While hypoglycemia is an issue, Bloomgarden shared that through the use of new approaches, older patients can still reap the benefits of glycemic control without potential harms from hypoglycemia. Age, he stressed, cannot be considered as a shortcut to the assessment of comorbidities; a healthy older person above 65 years old should not be denied potential beneficial medical management.
Wenger, meanwhile, showed why patient-centered care is required to embrace the complexities of cardiovascular diseases in older patients. The aforementioned complexities include multimorbidity, polypharmacy, frailty, cognitive impairment, functional status, and disability. Also to be considered are the social, financial, and physiological dimensions of aging.
The cardiologist at Emory University posits that patient-centered treatment goals are needed as quality of life, function, independence, and avoidance of adverse effects are often more significant endpoints for old cardiovascular disease patients than solely issues of mortality. There must be attention to specific cardiovascular syndromes that predominate in seniors, including isolated systolic hypertension, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and atrial fibrillation. Thus, he asserted, a systemic approach is required to incorporate age-related complexities into routine clinical decision-making.
Bornstein, on the other hand, focused on the effects of stroke on older people, including post-stroke depression or PSD and cognitive decline, which is a more common case than stroke recurrence. About one-third of stroke survivors suffer from PSD, and it is strongly associated with adverse impact on cognitive function and functional recovery as well.
With this information, Bornstein advised doctors to be aware of post-stroke complexities, evaluate them, and treat them to prevent PSD.
Graziottin, meanwhile, discussed the importance of developing effective hormonal and non-hormonal treatment strategies to protect aging women. This is due to the many problems associated with menopausal transition, including issues on decreased frequency and lack of interest in sex, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, and feeling compelled to have sex.
Graziottin also made Filipino doctors understand the relationship between menopausal transition and the increased susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Successful summit
Dr. Sevilla reiterated the importance of discussing these topics in aiding older individuals.
She said, “Providing updates on these four common conditions will allow our first-liners and family physicians to identify early—and hopefully avert—any possible complications.”
At least 1,000 attendees participated in the recently concluded ECHO Summit.