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| Prof Yacoub and other experts including the Qatar Foundation president Dr Fathy Saoud are seen during the workshop yesterday |
Experts in cardiovascular diseases prevention and treatment have urged residents to avoid driving themselves or allowing family members to take them to hospital when they experience chest pain, as such a symptom could be an onset of cardiac arrest or heart attack .
“According to our studies conducted at the Hamad Medical Corporation, we found that the percentage of cardiovascular disease patients who call the ambulance during emergency is only 12%. This is very low compared to elsewhere in the world apart from other countries in the region such as the Emirates, Yemen and Oman, which also record similar figures in ambulance call for such situation,” Qatar Cardiovascular Research Centre’s (QCRC) deputy director Dr Jassim al-Suwaidi said yesterday.
He and other experts were fielding questions from the audience after holding a workshop on ‘Qatar Cardiovascular Research’ at the Joint Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum and Arab Expatriate Scientists Network Symposium 2012, which is concluding today.
QCRC is dedicated to reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease worldwide through a programme of research and knowledge building, with emphasis on collaboration and building research networks.
“80% of patients, who have suffered chest pain or have cardiac illnesses are being brought to the hospital by their relatives or drive themselves to the hospital instead of calling the ambulance. There is a need to do something about this in order to further prevent patients from sliding into heart attack or cardiac arrest,” QCRC founder and executive director Prof Sir Magdi Yacoub noted.
“The most important issue to address is to raise awareness and education among the population that it is beneficial to call an ambulance if a person suffers chest pain or have other symptoms of heart failure. It is better to have a high level of suspicion rather than be negligent,” he maintained.
While acknowledging the importance of technology such as an iPhone in delivering relevant apps such as those needed to monitor a patient’s electrocardiograph (ECG) and send the message to the hospital via short messaging instead of rushing to the hospital, another expert from the QCRC Prof Robert Bonow cautioned that depending on such apps “is not too good and reliable” because people can have heart attack with normal ECG.
ECG is used to measure the rate and regularity of heartbeats, as well as the size and position of the chambers, the presence of any damage to the heart, and the effects of drugs or devices used to regulate the heart, such as a pacemaker.
“Nowadays, technologies are evolving and there are devices being developed to transmit the patient’s heart beat to the healthcare facility, but such apps are only useful for monitoring heart rhythm. And It is always important to check and be assured that the patient is not in trouble before depending on such devices,” Prof Bonow stated adding that prevention was extremely important aside lifestyle modifications and soon to be utilised personalised medicine.
According to him, Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the region remains the leading cause of death and disabilities and the healthcare expenses is being greatly affected by CVD compared to other health problems.
During the workshop, Dr Abdurrazak Gehani highlighted efforts being made by the QCRS to set up a national primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) in Qatar.