Despite fewer people smoking and effective therapies for hypertension and high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death worldwide¹.

This epidemic is driven by demographic factors like an aging population, decreasing mortality from other factors (such as infectious disease), and rising rates of obesity—which can drive the progression of metabolic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, and lead to the “metabolic syndrome,” a constellation of risk factors that increase an individual’s risk for heart disease and other health problems¹.

For more than 50 years, we have led the way in redefining the management of cardiovascular risk by bringing much-needed treatments to patients².

In cardiovascular therapy area, our endeavours have been to disseminate recent updates in Atrial fibrillation (AF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) to healthcare professionals, and create awareness on the nuances in the management of stroke prevention in AF and treatment of VTE. AF and VTE are common conditions among older adults. Over their lifetime, approximately 1 in 4 individuals will experience AF,while 1 in 8 will develop VTE³. Our initiatives helped address practical challenges faced by a physician while initiating an oral anticoagulant in patients with AF and VTE.

Our early discovery efforts focus on emerging areas of cardiovascular research such as control of eating disorders, Type 2 diabetes/ muscle uptake of glucose and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis².

According to the National Health Morbidity Survey in 2015, the prevalence of mental health problems among adults and children were 29.2% and 12.1%, respectively⁴. On top of that, the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the past years is expected to cause many of us to suffer from the short-term and long-term health effects of stress, anxiety, and other mental health complications⁵.

Also, due to government-issued quarantine laws and social distancing, many others who aren’t directly affected by the disease may suffer from the indirect consequences of self-isolation, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder⁵.

Mental illness does not discriminate. It can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, race, social status or income⁴. Those suffering from mental disorders are usually perceived to be restless, violent and unpredictable⁴. Such stigma and discrimination will only prevent such individuals from seeking professional help and treatment early⁴.

The Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) and Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA) , supported by Pfizer Malaysia, jointly launched a new mental health handbook in December 2019 that aims to provide a credible reference resource guide to enable Malaysians to acquire some basic knowledge about mental health and recognize the early warning signs and symptoms of the various mental disorders.

Learning to cope with mental health issues is difficult and overwhelming, but it can be done. We hope this handbook will significantly improve the lives of individuals with mental illness through better understanding, acceptance, and respect.