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Heart & Stroke Foundation reports success with CDP&R Programme
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados, through its
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation Programme (CDP&R), is
empowering numerous Barbadians to take charge of their lives.
The CDP&R Programme is operated through the Foundation's
"Gym With A Difference", located on the ground floor of the headquarters of the
Foundation at #3 Railway View, Ladymeade Gardens, Jemmotts Lane, St. Michael and
according to Catherine Charles, CDP&R Manager, such a programme has been
successful in getting persons who have had some form of cardiac event, back on
their feet.
"We are mostly interested in preventing heart disease in
Barbados, but what we do here in the cardiac rehab gym, is actually look after
those who have had what we call heart events. Doctors refer them to us and we
look after them, trying to get them to a place better than where they were
before" she told this newspaper.
"I would say that the programme has been extremely
successful, because we have seen people who could hardly climb stairs come in
and then they leave here after say, six months to a year and they are able to go
and maybe even work in their kitchen gardens or go to another gym".
"The program has been very successful to date, especially
with the patients who are coming across from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
because as you can appreciate, not everybody can pay for a service like this. So
sometimes, we do look after patients who we want them to get well, but who are
not able to pay for the service" she added.
The CDP&R Programme comprises of rehabilitation through
prescribed monitored exercise, as well as dietary and psychologically
counselling, and Charles has noted the Foundation's joy in seeing persons pass
through the program, better armed to lead a healthier life.
"It's really heart warming to see them leave here in better
shape and with better information. I would also say that it has a lot to do with
not only the patients, but the nurses too" she said.
However, Charles has noted that women seem to more conscious
and proactive about their health than men, who tend to wait until they are in
the acute stage of illness, or have had surgery, to seek help. This was borne
out in the current statistics of the Foundation, which show that to date, 167
persons are enrolled in the programme, 97 of which are females and 70 of which
are males.
Published Barbados Advocate
Thursday February 14, 2008
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