Innovative 'Heart-Works' Simulator Will Lead to Better Diagnosis and Management of Patients with Cardiovascular Ailments
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Emirates Cardiac Society has used its third annual Congress to officially launch the first echocardiography simulator of its kind in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it was announced today at a press conference.
The simulator, generously provided for use by Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, will help in tackling the rising incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one killer in the UAE according to Dr. Wael Al Mahmeed, Head of Cardiology, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC).
"It will be an effective tool in our armamentarium of tests used to diagnose heart diseases. It will be used to train physicians on how to better diagnose heart diseases by means of echocardiography," he said.
"Many people in the UAE have preventable CVD risk factors like hypertension and high cholesterol, and are committed to poor lifestyle habits. The World Heart Federation even estimates that by 2030 almost 23.6 million people will die from CVD, remaining the single leading cause of death globally. We need to be aggressive in our approach to diagnosis and treatment of heart disease so we can reduce this statistic locally," Dr. Al Mahmeed added.
According to a recent local arm of an international study, 41 percent of the UAE population aged 30 years and older has high blood pressure (hypertension), significantly higher than the global average of 25 to 30 percent according to latest data from the World Health Organisation, which has also warned that prevalence will double to 50 to 60 percent 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.
Cardiovascular disease is also a major complication of diabetes, and the leading cause of early death among sufferers of diabetes - according to the American Diabetes Association about 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart disease and stroke. UAE statistics show that as many as 20 percent of the local population are affected by diabetes, with no signs that this number decreasing.
"Heart disease is known as the 'silent killer' as many patients do not experience any symptoms and are frequently unaware that they even suffer from any form of CVD. 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," said Dr. Alessandro Salustri, Consultant Cardiologist at SKMC.
"The process involves the acquisition and interpretation of images, and the HeartWorks simulator is one of the major advances in training and development for sonographers and cardiologists - it 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," Dr Salustri added.
According to the developer of the HeartWorks simulator, the life-size mannequin torso allows real-time simulated imaging of the virtual heart.
The simulator will be utilised across the country to train doctors to improve their echocardiography skills for better image acquisition and interpretation, ultimately leading to better diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
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© Press Release 2012
