Karl Lauterbach wants to transform our healthcare system. This includes his plan to reduce the number of cardiovascular diseases in Germany in the future through preventative care vouchers. “We want to use a voucher system to ask everyone across Germany for children and young people, 25-year-olds, 35-year-olds and 50-year-olds to have their values measured: blood pressure, including the risk factor of diabetes,” he said “Picture on Sunday”.
“You get something like a voucher. We will handle this later via the electronic patient record. And with this voucher you can then have your blood values determined. And if the values are abnormal, you can start treatment through your family doctor.”
Determining risk even in small children
Prevention, even for the youngest – how useful is that? “I think this Lauterbach initiative is very good,” explains Heribert Schunkert, deputy chairman of the German Heart Foundation, in an interview with FOCUS online.
“Germany does less when it comes to cardiovascular prevention than other countries. We can learn from others.” He cites England as an example. A country that is otherwise criticized for its health system. There is an incentive system there that has significantly improved the precautionary situation.
The director of the Clinic for Heart and Circulatory Diseases at the German Heart Center in Munich also believes it makes sense that routine examinations should be carried out in different age groups in the future.
In children, for example, diseases such as familial hypercholesterolemia, a hereditary cholesterol metabolism disorder with serious consequences that go unrecognized, could be detected at an early stage. The earlier this is treated, the better for those affected.
And there are also clear advantages in early prevention for younger adults. “Then the risk factors that can later lead to cardiovascular diseases can be identified in good time.” The cardiologist includes things such as obesity, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.
Are 90 percent of illnesses preventable?
“Under ideal prevention conditions, almost 90 percent of all cardiovascular diseases could be prevented,” is another thesis by Lauterbach. “There is no disease so deadly where so much death is unnecessary. And it is sad that we have achieved so little in Germany.”
“The 90 percent are perhaps a bit optimistic,” says Schunkert, describing this statement. However, it’s not just about what percentage of diseases can generally be prevented. “It’s more about delaying it. We want to gain years of healthy life.” He explains: “It makes a significant difference to quality of life whether someone suffers a heart attack at 65 or at 75. There is no switch that can easily turn this disease off. Simply erased from your CV. But it makes a big difference whether the disease and all the subsequent symptoms appear five or ten years later.”
And he agrees with Lauterbach on another point: “It’s true that we have to improve the situation in Germany. There are many more people in this country who overexploit their bodies than there are those who care about their health. And this share needs to be shifted.” We have the capacity for this in this country.
How to protect your heart
Even if Lauterbach aims for preventive examinations at a young age, the risk of a heart attack, for example, increases with age. Although there is nothing you can do about it, certain risk factors can be significantly influenced. According to the German Heart Foundation, the following points are needed to promote heart health:
Stress reduction Get enough exercise, ideally endurance sports such as hiking, cycling, jogging and swimming etc. A balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables as well as whole grain products and little meat Avoid cigarettes Avoid alcohol Pay attention to blood pressure Avoid or reduce excess weight and belly fat
with agency material