Echosens, a high-technology company offering the FibroScan family of products, is helping to raise awareness about American Heart Month and highlighting the growing prevalence and relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and heart health. About 100 million individuals in the United States are estimated to have NAFLD, and its prevalence has more than doubled over the past 20 years.
“FibroScan is an easily implemented tool for monitoring the impact of lifestyle changes on liver fat, providing early detection, monitoring, patient education and engagement around lifestyle changes that can play a valuable role in mitigating both heart and liver disease,” says Jon Gingrich, CEO, Echosens North America. “During American Heart Month, we urge everyone to join us in raising awareness about the connection between liver disease and heart health so that more Americans can live longer, healthier lives.”
Approximately 82.6 million people in the United States currently have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease, making it a leading cause of death for both men and women. A recent study suggests an epidemiological link between NAFLD and heart failure (HF) beyond shared risk factors. Among 870,535 Medicare patients, 3.2% had a clinical diagnosis of NAFLD. Over a mean 14.3 months of follow‐up, patients with baseline NAFLD had a significantly higher risk of new‐onset HF.
Among a general adult population, the presence of NAFLD and severe fibrosis, the formation of an abnormally large amount of scar tissue in the liver, is associated with a higher cardiovascular risk profile, pointing towards the need for specific preventive measures. The prevalence of fatty liver and of severe scar tissue on the liver in the study’s cohort group was 31.7% and 4.8%, respectively.
Research also suggests that NAFLD is present in up to 75% of people who are overweight and in more than 90% of people who have severe obesity.
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death among patients with NAFLD and evidence suggests that NAFLD is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Similar to NAFLD, HF is associated with high morbidity and mortality and has reached epidemic proportions. Total deaths among the NAFLD population are estimated at 1.27 million with 85% classified as general background, 12.8% as excess cardiovascular, and 2.2% (28,200 deaths) as excess liver‐related deaths. By 2030, total deaths are projected to increase 44% to 1.83 million deaths annually.
Gingrich adds, “By adopting a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and weight loss, people can greatly reduce the risk of liver disease. Getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week can have a big impact. In fact, a 3% reduction in body weight has been associated with reversal of fat in the liver, while a reduction of greater than 7% may resolve non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), the more severe form of NALFD.”
About Echosens
Echosens, the developer of FibroScan®, is an innovative high-technology company offering a full range of products and services supporting physicians in their assessment and management of patients with chronic liver diseases. FibroScan is supported by over 3,000 peer-reviewed publications and examinations are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and many insurance plans. For more information, please visit https://www.echosens.com/.
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