SCORE of cardiologists from different countries are set to meet in Dar es Salaam to chart out a way forward in controlling current widespread of heart diseases.
The meeting that would be hosted by the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), will be held for two days from today. It involves specialists from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda, India, USA, and Argentina.
JKCI Executive Director, Dr Peter Kisenge, made the revelations during a press conference yesterday in Dar es Salaam.
Dr Kisenge said the meeting would be key in raising understanding over the magnitude of the problem and come up with resolutions that could contribute to finding solutions.
“Since the number of people suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including heart attacks is increasing, JKCI has decided to convene the meeting for a purpose of sharing knowledge so that our local doctors could understand more on how effectively to treat such patients,” said Dr Kisenge.
He added that the meeting would help the Tanzanian doctors gain knowledge on how to use sophisticated medical equipment that the government had purchased for public hospitals.
Speaking about the spreading of the problem, Dr Pedro Pallangyo, the Head of the Training and Research department at the JKCI said the heart attack and coronary artery were leading causes of deaths in the world.
“At least 200 million people worldwide are being attacked by these diseases and many of them die,” he stated.
He said the meeting in Dar es Salaam would be followed by another meeting which will be held in February 2024 in Tanzania to involve more than 40 countries.
Dr Pallangyo mentioned some causes of these diseases as Blood Pressure (BP), Diabetes, cigarette smoking, obesity, and excessive consumption of alcohol
“One of the objectives for this summit is to create awareness among members of the public over these causes so that they can take precautionary measures,” he added.
