From Biodun Esan, Ilorin Prof Philip Mamma Kolo of the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ilorin has called...
From Biodun Esan, Ilorin
Prof Philip Mamma Kolo of the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ilorin has called on government at all levels to join hands together and establish heart institutes in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Kolo, who made the call on Friday at the 236th Inaugural lecture of the University with the theme, said this was what was done in countries like the Philippines and India.
The professor delivering his lecture with the theme: "Power and the failed pump: Travails and remedies for broken hearts” said establishing a heart institute would make open heart surgery available in Nigeria and take care of patients with structural heart diseases.
The University Don also stressed the need to establish a cardiac catheterization laboratory in major teaching hospitals in Nigeria to address cardiac diseases that are amenable through interventional procedures.
He also called for the provision of defibrillators in public places to address cases of patients with cardiac arrests outside the hospital and regular training of all hospital staff or other institutions to be able to offer first aid to patients with cardiac arrest.
"Government should provide legislative support to those who wish to donate their organs including the heart, if they are involved in conditions causing brain death.
“Psychosocial support should be encouraged among families, especially in those who have had recent losses, such as loss of close relatives, business, and domestic violence.
“Obesity, diabetes mellitus, and other non-communicable diseases should be declared a public health emergency with all efforts directed at community education on diet and lifestyle choices to prevent these conditions.
"Pre-hypertension and mild elevation in blood pressure should not be ignored but treated properly after individuals' risks are fully assessed.
“Physicians inertial in treating hypertension should be discouraged for early medical intervention
"Medication adherence and persistence by patients with hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases should be encouraged.
“Patients should not abandon their medications for non-orthodox drugs such as Tiansi, bitter cola, snail water, and GNLD drugs.
“Offspring of hypertensive parents should be considered as a special group that needs early assessment, hypertension screening, and monitoring for future cardiovascular events. They should be discouraged from cigarette smoking and ethanol abuse.
“Manpower training and re-training to provide expertise in the field of cardiovascular medicine and cardiothoracic surgery is essential for regular open surgery," he added.
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