“South Asia is experiencing an epidemic of coronary artery disease and diabetes”. This was stated by Dr Syed Muhammad Najaf Ali Nadeem, Assistant Professor and Consultant Cardiologist at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). He was speaking at a seminar on heart disease held on November 24, 2006 in Hyderabad. In his presentation on ‘Heart Attack - Prevention and Treatment’, Dr Najaf said that mortality associated with coronary artery disease is estimated to double by 2020. He highlighted key factors responsible for the rise in this disease, namely an increase in urbanisation leading to a more sedentary life style, lack of physical activity and unhealthy diet.
Dr Najaf explained that narrowing of coronary arteries is caused by deposits of cholesterol-rich materials in the blood vessels, and when in addition to this, clot formations develop, this blockage may lead to a heart attack with immediate death. There is a survival rate of 50 per cent in such cases. He emphasised early recognition of symptoms and immediate treatment to save heart muscles from irreversible damage; and aspirin or blood thinners, and clot dissolving medications should be administered as soon as possible.
Dr Najaf termed coronary angiograms as the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosis of coronary heart disease. Defining the procedure for coronary angioplasty, he said that many patients previously managed with coronary artery bypass surgery can now be treated with coronary angioplasty with comparable success rates. He further explained that coronary angioplasty uses an innovative technique, ‘radial artery at wrist’.
Dr Hasanat Mohammad Sharif, Assistant Professor, Cardiothoracic Section, Department of Surgery at AKUH, speaking on ‘Surgical Management of Heart Failure’, defined the causes, prevention and available treatments of heart failure. Listing the major organs in the human body, which are the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and liver, he noted that organ failure is one of the major causes of mortality. Explaining that heart failure is often an end result of heart problems such as ischemia, hypertension, etc, Dr Sharif said that a better understanding of the causes of heart failure will result in appropriate prevention strategies. He concluded that it is important to recognise symptoms and seek timely medical help.
As part of its outreach programme and societal commitment to create awareness of early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKUH has organised over 200 ‘Signs, Symptoms and Care’ programmes in Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta and the UAE, benefiting more than 40,000 people. Similarly, Aga Khan University Hospital’s Patient Welfare Programme offers financial assistance to those patients who are unable to afford the medical cost of treatment. In 2005, 74 per cent of all patients treated at AKUH were from low- to-middle-income groups. Since the inception of this welfare programme in 1986, over Rs 1.4 billion has been disbursed to more than 250,000 needy patients.
