Title:Precision Medicine and a Patient-Orientated Approach: Is this the Future for Tracking Cardiovascular Disorders?
VOLUME: 23 ISSUE: 6
Author(s):Etheresia Pretorius
Affiliation:Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag x323, Arcadia, 0007
Keywords:Precision medicine, patient-orientated approach, cardiovascular disorders, thromboelastography, electron microscopy.
Abstract:The latest statistics from the 2016 heart disease and stroke statistics update shows that cardiovascular
disease is the leading global cause of death, currently accounting for more than 17.3 million deaths per year. Type
II diabetes is also on the rise with out-of-control numbers. To address these pandemics, we need to treat patients
using an individualized patient care approach, but simultaneously gather data to support the precision medicine
initiative. Last year the NIH announced the precision medicine initiative to generate novel knowledge regarding
diseases, with a near-term focus on cancers, followed by a longer-term aim, applicable to a whole range of health
applications and diseases. The focus of this paper is to suggest a combined effort between the latest precision
medicine initiative, researchers and clinicians; whereby novel techniques could immediately make a difference in
patient care, but long-term add to knowledge for use in precision medicine. We discuss the intricate relationship
between individualized patient care and precision medicine and the current thoughts regarding which data is
actually suitable for the precision medicine data gathering. The uses of viscoelastic techniques in precision medicine
are discussed and how these techniques might give novel perspectives on the success of treatment regimes of
cardiovascular patients are explored. Thrombo-embolic stroke, rheumathoid arthritis and type II diabetes are used
as examples of diseases where precision medicine and a patient-orientated approach can possibly be implemented.
In conclusion it is suggested that if all role players work together by embracing a new way of thought in
treating and managing cardiovascular disease and diabetes will we be able to adequately address these out-ofcontrol
conditions.
