The Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital has made yet another medical milestone after carrying out its first seven surgeries to treat and handle heart attacks.
Chief Executive Officer Dr Phillip Kirwa said the hospital hosted a medical camp where its cardiologists and other experts carried out minimally invasive procedures using modern technology to handle coronary diseases.
The beneficiary patients had been exposed to the risk of getting heart attacks because of the narrowing of blood vessels that lead to the heart.
Dr Kirwa said patients with the problem usually present symptoms like pains in the chest, mainly on the left side and left arm and also on the left shoulder.
“This a common problem and many patients are sedentary with hypertension, diabetes and obesity cases which are increasing.
He said by having such procedures done at MTRH it would save the lives of many people with the risk of heart attacks.
“When a patient gets a heart attack, it takes a very short time to death, and intervention has to be done within two hours. Having this service here is key to the people of this region,” Kirwa said.
He said the machine and equipment used for the procedure was bought by the Ministry of Health and installed early this year.
“This is part of the intervention by the government to save patients from heart attacks. This is the first time in Western Kenya,” Kirwa said.
Experts present said the surgery was a minimally invasive procedure done without opening the heart and makes big difference to patients who resume normal activities within two weeks.
Dr Kirwa said the procedure is fully covered by SHA and thanked the government and President William Ruto for ensuring SHA works effectively.
The official said the initial diagnosis costs about Sh200,000 while the actual stenting of the heart vessels costs about Sh450,000 at MTRH and over Sh2 million in other hospitals.
“That’s is why we urge Kenyans to register with SHA which covers most of the many complex procedures we undertake at MTRH,” Kirwa said.
Dr Felix Barasa who is the head of the cardiology department at the hospital, said they had partnered with experts from Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi to host the camp specifically for patients with coronary disease.
He said the biggest risk factors for coronary disease included hypertension with a third of the population above 30 years affected, followed by smoking and high cholesterol levels along with diabetes.
“The procedure we are carrying out on the patients helps to improve their quality of life by removing symptoms, including chest pains. The success of the procurement is 100 per cent,” he said.
Dr Joan Kiyeng who is a cardiologist at MTRH thanked the experts from Aga Khan for good mentorship of the MTRH medics who were now had better capacity to perform the procedures.
Dr Etienne Amendoza, who is a consultant cardiologist at the Aga Khan hospital, said the trend of diseases was changin,g with many patients suffering from cardiovascular complications.
“We are not only treating patients but also mentoring or equipping, and training the local experts so that they can carry on with these procedures,” he said.
