Ethiopia's Heart Care Crisis: Patients Die Waiting for Treatment
In Ethiopia, limited access to comprehensive heart care in Addis Ababa forces many patients to wait in life-threatening queues, with some losing their lives before receiving treatment. Dr. Feqadu Agwar, a leading cardiac surgeon, highlights the urgent need for expanded facilities and specialized training to address the growing burden of heart disease.
"Many heart patients lose their lives before they even reach the queue" - Dr. Feqadu Agwar
In Ethiopia, comprehensive heart treatment is primarily available in Addis Ababa, and it is reported that many heart patients pass away before they can even get into the queue for treatment.
Dr. Feqadu Agwar is a cardiac surgeon at the Ethiopian Heart Center, specializing in "heart surgery." He has performed 800 heart surgeries. Through Healing Valves Ethiopia (HVE), he has also conducted free heart surgeries for 30 children, costing 25 million birr. Additionally, he has authored a book titled "The Heart Patient's Diary."
Dr. Feqadu explains that in Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan countries, recurrent tonsillitis is a significant cause of heart disease, affecting both children and adults.
Recently, an 18-year-old girl who benefited from free treatment at Healing Valves Ethiopia (HVE) suffered from heart disease caused by tonsillitis. She underwent a successful four-hour surgery to replace a severely damaged heart valve caused by tonsillitis.
Dr. Feqadu explains that heart surgery involves opening the chest, stopping the heart and lungs, connecting the patient to a heart-lung machine, and then opening the heart to perform the surgery. This process involves many complex medical procedures.
Heart disease can occur naturally, and globally, it is estimated that "1 in 1,000 people" may have congenital heart defects.
On the other hand, Dr. Feqadu also highlights that heart disease can result from high blood pressure and diabetes.
Currently, comprehensive heart treatment in Ethiopia is only available in Addis Ababa, which poses a challenge for patients.
"Patients who are counted as sick wait in queues, and many lose their lives before they even reach the queue," he said.
Finally, when they do reach the queue, they are often in critical condition, requiring more complicated and extensive treatment, Dr. Feqadu explained.
"Treating a heart patient requires many specialists and the use of various machines. In this regard, heart treatment in our country is still in its early stages," he said.
As a solution...
Dr. Feqadu Agwar states that the Ethiopian Heart Center is currently the only institution in Ethiopia providing comprehensive heart treatment.
He suggests that by expanding this center into a training institution and producing more heart treatment specialists, the problem could be alleviated by sending them to various cities and regions.
Additionally, he mentions that if the center's current capacity is expanded to perform more heart surgeries, it could reach many more people.
Information obtained from the Ethiopian Heart Treatment Professionals Association indicates that St. Paul, Black Lion, and the Ethiopian Heart Center are the main institutions providing heart surgery and catheter-based heart treatments in Ethiopia.
Sources
The following sources were used to verify the information in this article. You can verify the information by visiting the links below.
