Heart Valve Disease Awareness Survey 2017: what did we achieve since 2015?

The 2015 Heart Valve Disease Awareness Survey showed a low knowledge and awareness about heart valve disease in the general population despite its high prevalence and morbidity. The 2017 survey was conducted to re-evaluate concern and knowledge about heart valve disease after 2 years of rapidly increasing patient numbers presenting with heart valve disease.

A total of 12,820 people aged 60 years or older in 11 European countries took part in the survey. While the number of people concerned most about heart valve disease increased significantly (2015:1.7% vs. 2017:2.1%; p < 0.001), it is still very low compared to cancer (28.8%) or Alzheimer’s disease (20.9%). More people claim to be familiar with heart valve disease in general (2015: 17.1% vs. 2017: 20.0%; p < 0.001) and the majority claims to know of at least one therapy for heart valve disease (61.9%). Nevertheless, only 3.8% could correctly identify aortic stenosis (AS), which is significantly less than in 2015 (7.2%; p < 0.001). As before, the majority of the respondents claimed to rarely or never undergo a stethoscope check from their general practitioner (2015: 54.2% vs. 2017: 50.6%, p < 0.001); nevertheless, a positive trend can be seen. People wish heart valve disease to be part of regular checks by the general practitioners.

The general population’s knowledge of heart valve disease in general slightly increased over the last 2 years. However, detailed understanding of aortic stenosis and its treatment options is still low, as is the level of concern shown for heart valve disease. Nevertheless, the general population cites heart valve disease as a condition they wish to be checked for regularly.