Cardiovascular disease continues to be one of the leading causes of death around the world. While many people focus on treatment after a heart attack or stroke occurs, healthcare experts are increasingly emphasizing the importance of identifying risk much earlier.
Bayer, a global leader in consumer health, recently announced an important milestone in its collaboration with the Saudi Heart Association (SHA). New research published by the association highlights the role of subclinical atherosclerosis in improving cardiovascular disease prevention and helping patients avoid serious events such as heart attacks and strokes.
If you think about cardiovascular disease, most people only become concerned after symptoms appear or after a major event occurs. The problem is that cardiovascular disease often develops silently over many years before showing any warning signs.
Atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque inside the arteries, is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease. Over time, these deposits can narrow arteries and reduce blood flow, increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular complications.
In many cases, this process begins long before a patient experiences symptoms.
For years, cardiovascular prevention strategies have followed a simple approach.
Primary prevention focuses on preventing a person's first cardiovascular event.
Secondary prevention focuses on reducing the risk of future events after a person has already experienced a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular condition.
While this approach has helped many patients, experts now recognize that it may not identify everyone who is truly at risk.
Some individuals may appear to have a low or moderate risk according to traditional scoring systems but may already have early artery damage developing inside their bodies.
This is where the concept of subclinical atherosclerosis becomes important.
Subclinical atherosclerosis refers to the early stages of artery disease before symptoms appear.
At this stage, plaque buildup may already be present in blood vessels, but patients often feel completely healthy and may not realize there is a problem.
According to the Saudi Heart Association, identifying subclinical atherosclerosis can provide healthcare professionals with an opportunity to intervene earlier and help prevent future cardiovascular events.
This allows doctors to better understand a person's actual risk rather than relying only on traditional risk calculators.
The Saudi Heart Association recently published recommendations encouraging healthcare providers to pay greater attention to detecting subclinical atherosclerosis.
The association believes that evaluating early artery disease can improve risk stratification and help identify patients who may otherwise be overlooked.
According to Prof. Dr. Waleed Al Habeeb, President of the Saudi Heart Association, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in Saudi Arabia.
He noted that Saudi patients often experience cardiovascular events nearly ten years earlier than patients in many Western countries. Because of this, earlier detection and prevention strategies are becoming increasingly important.
The association believes that identifying hidden cardiovascular risk can help improve prevention efforts, particularly among younger and asymptomatic individuals.
The Saudi Heart Association recommends several validated non-invasive imaging techniques that can help identify subclinical atherosclerosis before symptoms develop.
These include:
These technologies allow healthcare professionals to assess the health of blood vessels and detect early signs of artery disease.
By using these tools, physicians can make more informed decisions about preventive treatment and lifestyle interventions.
Bayer has been actively promoting a broader understanding of cardiovascular risk through what it calls the "cardio continuum" approach.
This approach recognizes that cardiovascular disease develops gradually over time and that risk assessment should go beyond a simple primary-versus-secondary prevention model.
Dr. Ricardo Salazar, Head of Medical for Bayer's Consumer Health Division, emphasized that helping people understand their cardiovascular risk is one of the most effective ways to reduce disease-related deaths.
According to him, when individuals understand their personal risk profile, they are more likely to take action to protect their heart health.
Bayer views the Saudi Heart Association's endorsement of subclinical atherosclerosis screening as an important step toward improving cardiovascular prevention strategies.
In 2024, Bayer and the Saudi Heart Association entered into a partnership aimed at improving cardiovascular care across Saudi Arabia.
The collaboration supports the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and focuses on strengthening prevention, early detection, and patient care.
One major objective of the partnership is identifying individuals who are at higher cardiovascular risk because of a combination of factors.
These risk factors may include:
By recognizing these risks earlier, healthcare providers can implement evidence-based prevention strategies before major cardiovascular events occur.
Around the world, healthcare systems are shifting their attention toward prevention rather than waiting for disease to progress.
Cardiovascular disease often develops silently, making early detection one of the most valuable tools available to healthcare professionals.
Identifying subclinical atherosclerosis gives doctors an opportunity to intervene sooner through lifestyle changes, medications, and ongoing monitoring.
This proactive approach may help reduce hospitalizations, improve quality of life, and lower the overall burden of cardiovascular disease.
The collaboration between Bayer and the Saudi Heart Association highlights an important shift in cardiovascular care. Rather than focusing only on patients who have already experienced a heart attack or stroke, healthcare organizations are increasingly working to identify risk much earlier.
By promoting awareness, encouraging advanced screening, and supporting evidence-based prevention strategies, both organizations hope to improve cardiovascular outcomes for patients across Saudi Arabia and beyond.
As understanding of cardiovascular risk continues to evolve, early detection of subclinical atherosclerosis may become an increasingly important part of routine clinical care, helping more people protect their heart health before serious complications develop.
The latest recommendations from the Saudi Heart Association reinforce the importance of detecting cardiovascular risk before symptoms appear. Through the use of modern screening technologies and a more personalized approach to risk assessment, healthcare providers can identify patients who may otherwise go unnoticed.
Bayer's ongoing collaboration with the Saudi Heart Association reflects a shared commitment to improving cardiovascular health through prevention, education, and early intervention. Together, these efforts have the potential to help reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and improve outcomes for millions of people in the years ahead.