Pacific International Hospital celebrates World Heart Day

To mark the World Heart Day, which falls on the 29 September, leading Organisation like World Health Organisation and World Heart Federation are putting a spotlight on creating Heart Healthy-Environment.

To celebrate this day Pacific International Hospital’s Cardiac Centre led by Medical Director and Chief Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, Dr O.P Sharma shared the success story of 37year old Clive Pole of Pangi in Southern Highlands Province, a Heart patient who underwent Open Heart Surgery here at PIH just over a week ago and is now living a healthy and normal life.

Pole was diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease, a type of Heart Artery Disease at Port Moresby General Hospital on the 6th of June this year and was referred to PIH.

On the 10th of September Pole went into surgery led by Dr Sharma and his team at the hospital’s new State of the Art cardiac Cath Lab well equipped with world class cardiac surgery operation theatre, the first ever in PNG.

Based on the success rate of Pole’s operation and that of eight other patients six under the ages of 50 years old that were operated on by Dr Sharma, the Pangia man wants to share his story and wants other Papua New Guineans to know that instead of spending money to go overseas for Heart Operations we have specialists and the equipment here to help ease our financial burdens.

Dr Sharma stated that heart disease is the world’s leading cause of death today and it is important that we keep the heart healthy.

“The increase of heart disease in comparatively young age group is due to smoking, unhealthy lifestyle, lack of exercise, uncontrolled blood pressure and diabetes.”

“Anatomically the size of the artery (Blood Vessel) in a PNG citizen is very good compared to similar age counterpart in a developed country. In my last 10 months of practice here at PIH, I have noticed that heart attacks are experienced here almost a decade and a half before when compared to the Western world, especially due to poor lifestyle habits and also as the nature of disease seen here is very aggressive,” says Dr Sharma.

Dr Sharma is a specialised Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon with 22 years of experienced and has treated more than 10, 000. He was based in his home country in India after graduating from Medical School and has moved to PNG 1o months ago to head the PIH Cardiac Centre with the first ever world class cardiac surgery equipments in the country and a team comprising of a resident cardiac surgeon, cardiac anesthetist and cardiac OT and a fully trained Intensive care unit staff to cater to the needs of the people of PNG.