Ahmedabad: Sudden deaths spur 20% rise in CVD drug sales

A string of sudden deaths attributed to heart ailments in the state coupled with health check-ups spurred by the alarm has driven sales of drugs related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) by 20% in Gujarat, indicated a recent report.

While all the sudden deaths are not attributed to heart issues by experts, it has not deterred many young and not-so-young patients to get themselves checked and get onto preventive medicine regime.

The data by Pharmarack, a healthcare management platform, also indicated that Gujarat recorded nearly double the growth in sales compared to Indian average of 11%.

The platform compared the data of pharmaceutical sales of October this year to October 2022. 

This year, the sale of drugs related to CVD clocked Rs 103 crore compared to Rs 86 crore in October 2022.

Alpesh Patel, president of the Federation of Gujarat State Chemists and Druggists' Association (FGSCDA), said that the recent cases of sudden deaths have motivated those with existing comorbidities to opt for check-ups to find early symptoms and remedy.

Some of the medicines that saw a spike in sales include statins, finerenone, and bempedoic acid among others. Consumption of anti-hypertensives has remained stable, indicated the report.