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Heartline Magazine January - March 2005
Cardiolink - News from the Cardiac Support Group
Members and Friends of the Heart Foundation of Barbados, The
Cardiac Support Group wishes you all God’s blessings for the New Year. This year
we shall continue our quest to assist those patients with cardiac problems and
to help their families with respect to care and counseling after surgery of
their love ones.
The Cardiac Support group supplies surgical patients with
comfort pillows, Inspironmeters (to assist with their breathing exercises) and
provides counseling immediately after an operation. Members of the group visit
those patients in hospital and keep in contact with them after they are
discharged.
This year we will be publishing the second edition of our
book “Your Questions Answered”. This provides useful information to the public
at large. This will coincide with our Third interactive Dialogue, which will
involve many cardiac patients and their families.
Our annual Retreat took place on January 29, 2005 and
renewed our interest to continue our service to the community. This is an
interactive session that allows us to plan and organize new strategies to assist
patients and their families throughout the year.
We are looking forward to hosting our annual Luncheon later
in the year. The members of the Cardiac Support Group work very hard to achieve
the goals and objectives. Our mandate is to reach all cardiac patients in
Barbados and the wider Caribbean. Our motto is “I love my heart, Let it Beat”
Heart Disease
At a recent lecture sponsored by the Cardiac Support Group,
of the Heart Foundation of Barbados, which was held at the University of the
West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, guest speaker Dr Richard Ishmael, Cardiologist,
revealed some startling statistics of Heart Disease in Barbados and the
Caribbean. He reported that 60% of patients at the Queen Elizabeth are diagnosed
with heart disease. Right now in Barbados 70 open-heart surgery operations are
being done yearly. He said that yearly, 300 babies in the region need open heart
surgery.
Barbados has so far sent 141 patients to North Shore
Hospital in the United States of America to have surgery performed. The region
has sent 750 patients to North Shore Hospital in the last 20 years. The
mortality rate is 3%.
• Tobacco Use
Chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of artery walls
making them more prone to the accumulation of plaque. The cessation of smoking
will often lead to a reduction in blood pressure.
• Coronary Revascularization
Many patients with diabetes will present with left main
coronary artery disease, triple vessel disease or diffuse disease, which is best
treated with coronary arterial bypass grafting. In patients with single vessel
disease or multi-vessel disease with fairly discreet lesions, the options for
therapy remain somewhat controversial.
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