Dubai: The Emirates Cardiac Society launched the first 3D echocardiography simulator in the UAE, at the third annual Emirates Cardiac Society Congress.
The congress aimed to increase awareness and educate people about the risk factors of cardiovascular disease as well as introduce new preventive treatments.
“Twenty-five per cent of people who die in the UAE, die from CVD, this means that one out of four deaths is caused by CVD. This is because of a higher incidence of risk factors such as diabetes, which is 25 per cent, hypertension 30 per cent, overweight and obesity is almost 50 per cent and high cholesterol is almost 30 to 40 per cent,” said Dr Fahad Baslib, head of cardiology at Rashid Hospital and chairman of the Emirates Cardiac society.
The ‘Heart Works’ simulator is the first of its kind in the UAE and as it will help track the rising incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) which is the number one killer in the UAE.
Provided by Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, the simulator will be shared among different hospitals in Dubai in order to train its physicians on how to use echocardiography on a dummy which is much safer than using a real patient.
This will lead to better diagnosis and management of patients with CVD ailments and so help in tackling the rising incidence of CVD.
According to a recent local arm of an international study, 41 per cent of the UAE population aged 30 years and older has high blood pressure (hypertension), significantly higher than the global average of 25 to 30 per cent according to latest data from the World Health Organisation, which has also warned that prevalence will double to 50 to 60 per cent by 2025.
The UAE is already seeing a rise in cases of hypertension, especially among a growing number of younger people (under 35), as a result of unhealthy lifestyles including poor diet and lack of exercise.
However, because the disease is symptomless, many people are unaware they have high blood pressure and go undiagnosed.
UAE statistics show that as many as 20 per cent of the local population is affected by diabetes, with no signs that this number decreasing.
“Echocardiography is an effective tool in picking up heart disease before symptoms even appear in a patient, and is the most widely used and cost-effective diagnostic imaging tool in cardiology. HeartWorks is a mannequin with a virtual reconstruction of a heart and is an optimal way for physicians to increase their skills in this area without any discomfort to a patient,” said Dr Alessandro Salustri, Consultant Cardiologist at Shaikh Khalifa Medical City.
Dr Baslib added that the aim of this year’s conference was to emphasise prevention through new treatment, new devices and educate the public about the risk factors of CVD like smoking, lack of exercise, junk food and the importance of screening for diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol which are the causes of CVD.
The 3rd Emirates Cardiac Congress was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel from November 1 to 3, under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, the UAE Minister of Finance and President of the Dubai Health Authority, and was inaugurated by Qadi Saeed Al Murooshid, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority
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