Less pain: heart patients ask for 45 billion for medicines

Russia needs an additional 45.3 billion rubles for three years to provide medicines to people with heart disease, the All-Russian Union of Patients (VSP) has estimated. Currently, approximately 34 billion is planned for this period. The increase in funding will save the lives of more than a million people, according to the union. The information about the situation with cardiovascular diseases in the country and what additional funds are needed is in the Izvestia article.

How much is missing for the treatment of heart diseases

The All-Russian Union of Patients has asked to increase funding for the federal project "Combating Cardiovascular Diseases" by more than 45 billion rubles for the next three years. The organization sent such an appeal to the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, the document is available to Izvestia.

Additional funds are needed to provide medicines to patients with hypercholesterolemia (high levels of fat or cholesterol in the blood, leading to narrowing or blockage of the arteries) and hypertension (persistent increase in blood pressure above the acceptable level). Now such patients can be provided from regional budgets or they buy drugs at their own expense.

Currently, the federal project to combat cardiovascular diseases includes six categories of patients with "very high cardiovascular risk." These include, for example, people who have suffered acute cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, and suffering from coronary heart disease combined with atrial fibrillation and chronic heart failure. In addition, federal funds are provided to people who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting or angioplasty with stenting.

About 34 billion rubles (11.3 billion rubles per year) have been allocated to finance the federal project to combat cardiovascular diseases for 2026-2028. A similar amount was pledged in 2025.

According to the VSP letter, 1.8 billion rubles are needed to provide drugs in 2026-2028 for patients with severe hypercholesterolemia, almost 7 billion rubles for patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease, and 22.9 billion rubles for patients with hypertension and chronic heart failure. In addition, almost 14 billion rubles are needed for patients with hypertension and atrial fibrillation.

The increase in funding will save the lives of 1.25 million patients with these diseases, where 5.2 thousand cases occur in patients with hypercholesterolemia, the rest in people with hypertension, the letter of the patient organization specifies.

"During 2024-2025, a lot of expert work was carried out to develop scenarios for further expansion of the program, which is vital for thousands of patients. Nevertheless, the financing planning did not take into account the additional funds needed to support patients with cardiovascular diseases," the VSP statement emphasizes.

The federal project to combat cardiovascular diseases has proven its effectiveness, the co-chairman of the VSP, Yuri Zhulev, told Izvestia. But, according to him, it is important not to stop there.

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How many people in Russia have CVD

More than 30 million Russians suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system, and mortality from diseases of the circulatory system still occupies a leading position in the overall mortality structure, the press service of the Ministry of Health told Izvestia. At the same time, they noted that an integrated approach to treatment ensured a reduction in mortality from cardiovascular diseases.

"In 2019-2024, 653 vascular centers were equipped with more than 28.8 thousand units of modern medical equipment, including 670 units of "heavy" equipment. This includes, for example, computer and magnetic resonance imaging, angiographs," the press service of the Ministry of Health clarified. "Starting in 2021, the routing procedures for patients with cardiovascular diseases have been updated annually in the regions."

Updating the material and technical base and optimizing routing made it possible to ensure a high level of accessibility and quality of medical care, including for exacerbations of cardiovascular diseases, the press service of the Ministry of Health emphasized.

They also recalled that starting in 2020, patients who have suffered cardiovascular disasters or heart surgery will be provided with medicines as part of a federal project. In 2020-2024, more than 2.5 million patients received outpatient medications for free. As a result, the number of repeated myocardial infarctions decreased by 39%.

Sergey Boytsov, chief freelance cardiologist at the Ministry of Health, noted that for two years patients with acute forms of coronary heart disease have been receiving specialized high—tech medical care in a network of regional vascular centers and departments, and after myocardial infarction and stroke they receive free medication. According to him, this has reduced mortality from myocardial infarction by 17% in 2020-2024, and from coronary heart disease by 26%.

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How they ask to expand the program

It is the prevention of arterial hypertension that should become a priority for the expansion of the CVD control program, according to the letter from the All-Russian Union of Patients.

"The prevalence of arterial hypertension in Russia is about 7.6 million patients among people of working age. The presence of the disease increases the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure and terminal kidney disease. At the same time, it remains the only socially significant nosology where there is no preferential drug provision for patients upon the fact of the disease," the letter from the patient organization says.

The expansion of the project to patients with severe arterial hypertension and combined diseases will save almost 20 thousand lives annually, the VSP said.

First of all, about 7 billion rubles should be invested in providing medicines to 235,000 patients with hypertension and chronic kidney disease, Yuri Zhulev believes. According to him, this will prevent almost 5,000 deaths among people of working age every year.

High blood pressure remains the main risk factor for heart attacks and strokes, Olga Rizakhanova, associate professor of Public Health, Economics and Health Management at the I.I. Mechnikov Northwestern State Medical University, confirmed to Izvestia. She also noted that chronic kidney disease and other concomitant diseases worsen the course of the disease.

"Hypertension officially has the status of a socially significant disease, but people with hypertension associated with primary kidney damage are the only ones who do not receive preferential medications, unlike other groups with a similar status," the expert added. — The lack of targeted drug support for hypertensive patients exacerbates the statistics of mortality and disability from cardiovascular diseases.

According to the VSP, arterial hypertension causes annual economic damage in excess of 870 billion rubles, which is 1% of the country's GDP.

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Will funding for the treatment of heart diseases be increased

Sergei Leonov, head of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, supports the expansion of funding for the federal project to combat cardiovascular diseases.

— There are indeed diseases in the country that require additional investments. There is never a shortage of money in healthcare," he told Izvestia.

The initiative of the patients was also supported by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Health Committee, Fedot Tumusov.

— I am inclined to agree that the allocated funds are insufficient, — he said.

At the same time, Sergey Leonov noted that it is important to analyze where to get money for the expansion of the program.

"If our colleagues from the VSP are ready to propose solutions to find funds to increase financing for the federal project, we and the government will consider this issue," the expert emphasized.

According to Leonid Ogul, the first deputy chairman of the committee, the amount of 11.3 billion rubles per year was formed based on a detailed analysis of the situation. At the same time, he did not rule out that the amount of financing provided for 2026-2028 under the program may still change.

Cardiovascular diseases remain the main cause of death in Russia — they account for almost half of all cases, Alexey Nikitin, cardiologist and head of medical projects and innovations at Invitro, reminded Izvestia. According to the expert, hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke primarily lead to death.

"Today, millions of people in the country live with these diagnoses: about 40% of adults suffer from hypertension, and more than half of the population has high cholesterol," he said.

The expert also stressed that diseases are "getting younger": high blood pressure and high cholesterol are increasingly common in people aged 30-40 years.

The main causes of their occurrence are a sedentary lifestyle, excess weight, excess salt and fats in the diet, stress, smoking and heredity, Alexey Nikitin added.

Nikita Lomakin, chief cardiologist of the Presidential Administration and head of the Department of Emergency Cardiology at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Presidential Administration, noted that every fourth death in the world is still associated with blood clots.