Like any great detective drama, there’s always a suspect. The same applies to HAE, according to Dr Ankur Jindal: ‘Always keep HAE in your mind. If you see angioedema, suspect HAE,’ he tells his fellow professionals in a new series of HAEi-produced films about the disease.
These new films have been produced to improve awareness, understanding, and diagnosis of HAE by healthcare professionals in the countries that make up the Asia Pacific region, as the disease remains underdiagnosed and misunderstood. Prof Philip Li, one of the experts featured in the videos, explains: ‘Historically, many countries in the Asia Pacific region faced similar challenges; HAE was largely unknown among healthcare providers and often dismissed as non-existent. This lack of awareness and infrastructure created a sense of inertia that made meaningful progress seem out of reach.’
The video series, called The HAE Insight Series: Understanding HAE in Asia Pacific, is designed to support physicians by highlighting key symptoms, guiding differential diagnosis, and sharing real-life patient experiences that reflect the human impact of the disease.
The full series is:
- Recognizing the Symptoms of HAE: What Physicians Need to Know
- Diagnosing HAE: Clinical Steps and Considerations
- Guiding the Way: Information, Resources, and Next Steps
- The Human Impact of HAE: What Doctors Don’t Always See
Each video features expert insights from healthcare professionals across the region (Dr Ankur Jindal from India and Prof Philip Li from Hong Kong), as well as powerful patient stories that emphasize the urgent need for earlier diagnosis. Dr Ankur Jindal comments: ‘There is a remarkable lack of knowledge about HAE amongst healthcare physicians in most Asia Pacific countries. I am glad to be a part of this initiative, spreading the word about HAE to the healthcare community. I am sure this will help in improving the diagnostic rates of HAE in this region.’
Prof Li suggests that the situation in Asia Pacific is improving fast, but there is a lot still to do: ‘Many Asia Pacific countries have not only caught up but in some cases surpassed global standards in HAE care. Given that the region represents half the world’s population, there remains great potential to identify and treat many more undiagnosed individuals, ultimately achieving equitable care for all HAE patients.’
Awareness of HAE is a vital first step towards timely diagnosis and effective treatment. It is hoped these videos will ultimately help improve outcomes for people living with HAE, which is a key goal of HAEi. Speaking of his own experience in Hong Kong (HK), Prof Li comments: ‘Without HAEi connecting us with international expertise and integrating HAE HK into the broader global community, it’s difficult to imagine how much progress we could have made on our own.’
You can watch all the films in the series on the HAEi website, here. Please share with your network of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to spread the message as widely as possible.
HAEi acknowledges a grant from Takeda Growth & Emerging Markets (GEM), which made the development of this video series possible. These videos were produced independently. The opinions and views expressed in these videos do not represent those of Takeda.