(Trinidad Guardian) President of the Caribbean Cardiac Society Dr Ronald Henry says research has shown that T&T is the heart-attack capital of the western hemisphere and has called on the government to provide more funding for health. Henry was speaking at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex on Thursday night at a function in commemoration of World Heart Day, which will be celebrated today.
This event was put on by the T&T Heart Foundation (TTHF) and supported by pharmacology companies, including Bayer HealthCare, Bhoeringer Ingelheim, Roche, Medtronic and the Caribbean Cardiac Society. Henry said 17.3 million people die annually from heart disease and the government needs to take funding for cardiac healthcare seriously.
He pointed out that the government’s health expenditure in 2011 was 5.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, which was low when compared with most countries. The United States leads with 17.9 per cent. “It is a thin slice of pizza, and (healthcare professionals) need to have a say on how much is allocated to health. It does not matter what government is in power. Heart care is under-cared. There is no happiness and there must be a voice, political but not partisan, because everybody benefits when their health is at risk,” he said.
“We have four local specialists on call and we have a rotating circuit of foreign doctors. The average person is unlikely to get care unless he has deep pockets. There is a need to change and we need to lobby for state funding on emergency heart-attack victims. This is how we will save lives,” he said. Henry said anyone suffering a heart attack when they visit the hospital should say: “I am here and having a heart attack. I need to open my arteries,” and that was what created change.
