THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.,
Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- In recognition of World Heart Day on Sunday, September 29, Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGEN) today
released findings from a global survey that evaluated worldwide
heart attack survivors' perceptions and awareness of the connection
between cholesterol and cardiovascular (CV) events.
View the multimedia news release here:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8490253-amgen-global-cholesterol-and-cardiovascular-event-survey/
Globally, patients who have had a heart attack or stroke have a
1 in 3 risk of having another CV event.1 Lipids, such as
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or "bad" cholesterol,
are one of the most important risk factors for heart
attack.2,3
The survey's findings show that while heart attack survivors are
proactively trying to improve their cardiovascular health, they may
not fully understand the importance of lowering high LDL-C to
reduce their risk of another heart attack:
- 97% of heart attack survivors surveyed say they are taking at
least one key action to try to lower their risk, and 75% have
talked to their doctor about the risk of another
event.4
- However, confusion remains when it comes to lowering
cholesterol. One-third do not know what their cholesterol levels
should be and 44% are not monitoring their cholesterol regularly;
only one in five heart attack survivors who have been told they
have high cholesterol consider it to be a leading risk factor for
another event.4
"The vast majority of heart attack survivors are taking some
action to lower their risk of another event, but the issue is that
most are not monitoring or managing all modifiable risk factors,"
said Darryl Sleep, M.D., senior vice
president, Global Medical and Chief Medical Officer at Amgen.
"We're using this World Heart Day to urge all people who are
high-risk, like heart attack survivors, to speak with their doctor
about the link between cholesterol and heart attacks, and how they
can lower their cholesterol levels."
Key survey findings – which included over 3,200 people in
the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, United
Kingdom, France,
Germany, Spain, Italy,
the Netherlands, China, South
Korea and Japan – revealed
that patients might not be having the right conversations with
their doctors.
- 63% of surveyed patients do not believe high cholesterol is a
chronic condition requiring long-term care, and 24% of survivors
say their doctor has not discussed the role of cholesterol in heart
attacks.4
- Fewer women who have survived a heart attack know their
cholesterol levels and what their target levels should be than men
who have survived a heart attack.4
- In addition, while younger survivors (aged 40-49) are more
concerned about cardiovascular disease (CVD) than their older
peers, fewer understood that it is a chronic condition requiring
long-term management and care.4
World Heart Day, organized by the World Heart Federation, is a
campaign that unites people from all countries and backgrounds in
the fight against CVD burden, and inspires and drives international
action to encourage heart-healthy living across the world. The
survey shows patients are willing to act but need the right
information from physicians to help manage their risk and take the
right actions.
Approximately 8 of 10 very high-risk adults are still unable to
attain their LDL-C goal despite lipid-lowering therapy.5
Very high-risk adults have a history of multiple major
atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events or one major event
and multiple high-risk conditions. Professional cardiology
societies around the world now recognize that lower cholesterol
reduces the risk of another CV event, which is reflected in updated
treatment guidelines for high-risk patients.6
"This World Heart Day, we want people to make a promise to
themselves to look after their hearts," said Jean-Luc Eiselé, CEO,
World Heart Federation. "Globally, cholesterol levels have hardly
changed in nearly 30 years,7 and the incidence of heart
disease is expected to rise by 40% by 2035.8 Doctors and
health organizations around the world need to work with all
patients, including high-risk patients to help them understand
the right steps to take after a heart attack. This global survey
reveals the continued confusion surrounding LDL-C and CVD, and the
need for more people to act."
Amgen encourages heart attack survivors or anyone concerned
about their cardiovascular health to spend this World Heart Day
learning about cholesterol. For more information, visit
Cholesterol911.com and download the doctor discussion guide to find
out what questions to ask to start taking control of your
LDL-C.
About the Survey
The research was commissioned by
Amgen and conducted by KRC Research, an independent global public
opinion research consultancy. A total of 3,236 online surveys were
completed by post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients aged 40 or
older in 13 different countries. Participating countries included
the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, United
Kingdom, France,
Germany, Spain, Italy,
the Netherlands, China, South
Korea, and Japan. The
survey included approximately 250 MI patients from each
participating country. Data collection took place from
June 21 to July 18, 2019.
About World Heart Day and the World Heart Federation
World Heart Day is a global campaign during which individuals,
families, communities and governments around the world participate
in activities to take charge of their heart health and that of
others. Through this campaign, the World Heart Federation unites
people from all countries and backgrounds in the fight against the
CVD burden, and inspires and drives international action to
encourage heart-healthy living across the world. The World Heart
Federation works at the international and national levels to build
global commitment to address CV health at the policy level,
generate and exchange ideas, share best practice, advance
scientific knowledge and promote knowledge transfer to tackle
CVD.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the
potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses
by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative
human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like
advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and
understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages
its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that
improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A
biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be the world's
largest independent biotechnology company, has reached millions of
patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines
with breakaway potential.
For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on
www.twitter.com/amgen.
Forward Looking Statement
This news release contains
forward-looking statements that are based on the current
expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed
forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues,
operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial
metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or
clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or
practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes and other such
estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve
significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed
below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange
Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most
recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic
reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless
otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as
of the date of this news release and does not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this document as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual
results may differ materially from those we project. Our results
may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and
existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and
regulatory developments involving current and future products,
sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other
products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in
manufacturing our products and global economic conditions. In
addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure,
political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by
third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans
and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory,
clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international
trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment.
Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other
operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and
foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could
identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our
products, including our devices, after they are on the market. Our
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Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and
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applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our
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intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount
of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities,
including in Puerto Rico, and also depend on third parties for
a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may
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candidate development. We rely on collaborations with third parties
for the development of some of our product candidates and for the
commercialization and sales of some of our commercial products. In
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our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development
of new products. Discovery or identification of new product
candidates or development of new indications for existing products
cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is
uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any
particular product candidate or development of a new indication for
an existing product will be successful and become a commercial
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Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial
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that implicate an entire class of products could have a material
adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our
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all.
CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand
Oaks
Jessica Akopyan, 805-447-0974
(media)
Trish Hawkins, 805-447-5631
(media)
References
- Bhatt DL, et al. JAMA.
2010;304(12):1350-1357.
- Yusuf S, et al. Lancet. 2004; 364:937-952.
- Goldstein JL, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol.
2009; 29(4):431-438.
- Data on File, Amgen; 2019.
- Gitt A, et al. Atherosclerosis. 2016; 255:200-209.
- Grundy SM, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018; doi:10.1016/
j.jacc.2018.11.003.
- World Health Organization. Raised Cholesterol. Available at:
https://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/cholesterol_text/en/. Last
accessed September 13, 2019.
- RTI International. Projections of Cardiovascular Disease
Prevalence and Costs: 2015–2035. Available at:
https://healthmetrics.heart.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Projections-of-Cardiovascular-Disease.pdf. Last
accessed September 13, 2019.
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SOURCE Amgen