Daily Times

In the world, the heart day is celebrated on 29th September every year. IHD (Ischemic heart disease) is the leading cause of death worldwide, placing a major resource and economic burden on public health systems. High income developed countries have seen declines in mortality rates from the disease, but elsewhere the picture is less favorable, with continued high mortality. Turkmenistan ranks 1st in the most affected country in this regard. The chronic diseases accounted for 73% of all deaths in the country. As far as the matter is concerned with Pakistan, it can be seen that the increasing population and lack of health facilities has been making the scenario worse day by day. The population has been doubled from 2005 but the hospitals and facilities are same as they were back 16 years ago. If we talk about the situations in hospitals, every 1 out of 3 elevators is either not working or have some mechanical problem. Due to which poor patients have to wait for a very long time. Despite the seriousness of cardiovascular diseases in Pakistan, minimal attention is given to the prevention of risk factors. In addition, economic and political instability is speeding up the rates of diseases in the country. Practical efforts are mandatory to enhance the understanding of these cardiovascular diseases risk factors such as diet, physical activity, health facilities and tobacco-control policies to support prevention and control at the population level.

Recently, the cardiologists have warned that heart diseases have become the prime cause of deaths in Pakistan where according to WHO (World Health Organization) an alarming increase has been seen in deaths due to heart attacks, resulting in a bewildering 46 deaths with every passing hour. Four years ago, only 13 people were dying due to heart diseases per hour but only in a matter of four years, the figure has alarmingly increased and now 46 people are dying due to heart attacks in Pakistan. The situation is getting worse day by day and nobody is willing to take a step forward to save the humanity. There are only 3 main institutes/ hospitals giving services in the case of heart diseases namely; PIC (Punjab institute of Cardiology, Lahore), FIC (Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology), and RIC (Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology).

In this regard, a kind reputed doctor of Pakistan Prof. Dr. Saqib Shafi (Cardiologist) of PIC (Punjab Institute of Cardiology) has been doing an excellent job for many years to save the humanity. PIC is a specialized tertiary care hospital providing state of the art treatment to cardiac patients. It is also playing lead role in research and postgraduate training in the field of Cardiology, Anesthesia, Cardiac Surgery, Electrophysiology and Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Saqib is among the Best Cardiologists in the country and is one of the most experienced Cardiologists in Lahore. Currently, he is part of the core team at Punjab Institute of Cardiology, where he is the CEO. He has published many research articles on many different aspects of cardiology and heart disease. Many a times, he has drawn the attention of authorities and public to different causes of heart diseases. In a video, he spoke about healthy lifestyles that the public should adopt. In case that a family member gets heart disease, the entire family should work together to maintain a healthy lifestyle so the patient has higher morale and feels more support.

Angioplasty (Heart stunt) is performed by cardiologists to restore blood flow through the arteries. In this procedure, the doctor drifts a thin tube through a blood vessel in the arm to the involved site in the artery. The tube has a tiny balloon attached on the end. When the tube reaches the place, the doctor filled the balloon to push the plate outward against the wall of the artery. This widens the artery and put back the blood flow for the patient. It is usually a less complicated way to open the arteries that are clogged, but still, this procedure has some risks. It is extremely rare and can only be done in only 30% of the cases. The thing is; in Pakistan, when somebody goes for this procedure, one stunt costs around 250,000 rupees in a satisfactory hospital and not every patient having a white collar job can afford that. It is not as such as complicated thing as it is told. If, a Nuclear country like us can make missiles like (Shaheen, Ghauri) and make an Atom bomb (One of the most disastrous thing in the world) etc. In this procedure, experts always refer American stunts that are highly expensive. In this regard, we should promote our local medical industry. Moreover, we should produce stunt of our own on very reasonable prices to save humanity. But it’s been given priority by any government in last 3 decades. It is still an existing question that why cannot we make the stunts of our own which can provide health to a family leader? Is it so complicated that a number of highly qualified researchers and scientist cannot make it in Pakistan and we certainly have to import it from foreign countries on very high prices?

According to me, all the concerned authorities, head of the state and the people in Government should take notice of this serious issue before it gets worse. It is my special request (in the favor of humanity of Pakistan) to honorable President (Dr. Arif Alvi), honorable Prime Minister (Imran Khan) and secretary health (Mr. Nabeel Awan) that this issue is waiting for their kind attention for the favorable health of the people of the country. A state needs qualified and intellectual people like senior professor (Khalid Masood Gondal) and (Prof. Saqib Shafi). Under these two living legends, a research team should be made that will work on the basic causes of heart attacks. Also, health is as important as education in anyplace. So, if Pakistan wants to be ranked good in every sphere of life, then it needs to give health a satisfactory budget which should be used on the citizens transparently. Also, expensive facilities like (Stent) should be made easily available for every deserving patient of the country so that Pakistan doesn’t have to import it at extremely high prices.

The Writer is a Senior Social Analyst of Health & Chairman Pakistan Columnist Council Can be found at figure786@hotmail.com