Lack of local cardiologists forces NGO to fly in doctors
18 Jan 2010, 5:31 PM
Minivan News
Maldivian infants with suspected congenital heart defects (CHD) are being flown to India for corrective surgery because of the lack of a pediatric cardiologist at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
In one Indian hospital alone, over a two year period 40 Maldivian babies have undergone surgery for CHD claimed Maldives NGO ‘Tiny Hearts Maldives’, which is advocating early screening within the country.
Heart defects are a leading cause of infant mortality, obstructing or constricting blood flow in the heart and blood vessels or affecting the heart’s rhythm.
Early detection is possible through an echocardiogram however while IGMH owns an echocardiogram machine, the lack of a trained cardiologist has left it unused.
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