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Humanitarian cardiac care in Arequipa, Peru: experiences of a multidisciplinary Canadian cardiovascular team
Corey Adams1, Philipp Kiefer, Kenneth Ryan
1Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Western Ontario, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ont.
Insights
Medical volunteerism improved cardiovascular care in Peru, with 15 cardiac repairs and 150 patients managed over two years. This initiative demonstrated good patient outcomes despite resource limitations.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Global Health
- Medical Missions
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality are rising in developing countries.
- Limited resources, access, training, and funding hinder cardiovascular care in these regions.
- Medical volunteerism offers expertise and support to enhance local cardiovascular patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the experience and challenges of performing cardiovascular interventions during humanitarian medical missions in Arequipa, Peru.
- To assess the feasibility and impact of providing advanced cardiovascular care in a resource-limited setting.
Main Methods:
- Annual humanitarian medical missions conducted over a 2-year period.
- Performed cardiovascular interventions for rheumatic, congenital, and ischemic heart disease.
- Assessed and managed patients in an outpatient clinic, including 1-year postoperative follow-up.
Main Results:
- Successfully performed 15 cardiac repairs.
- Assessed and managed 150 patients in the outpatient clinic.
- Achieved good early and 1-year postoperative outcomes for patients receiving advanced cardiovascular care.
Conclusions:
- Humanitarian missions can successfully deliver advanced cardiovascular care despite significant challenges and limited resources.
- Interdisciplinary education in all aspects of cardiac care is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
- Volunteer medical teams can effectively support local healthcare providers and improve cardiovascular patient care in underserved regions.
Background:
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and its associated mortality continue to increase in developing countries despite unparalleled improvements in cardiovascular medicine over the last century. Cardiovascular care in developing nations is often constrained by limited resources, poor access, lack of specialty training and inadequate financial support. Medical volunteerism by experienced health care teams can provide mentorship, medical expertise and health policy advice to local teams and improve cardiovascular patient outcomes.
Methods:
We report our experience from annual successive humanitarian medical missions to Arequipa, Peru, and describe the challenges faced when performing cardiovascular interventions with limited resources.
Results:
Over a 2-year period, we performed a total of 15 cardiac repairs in patients with rheumatic, congenital and ischemic heart disease. We assessed and managed 150 patients in an outpatient clinic, including 7 patients at 1-year postoperative follow-up.
Conclusion:
Despite multiple challenges, we were able to help the local team deliver advanced cardiovascular care to many patients with few alternatives and achieve good early and 1-year outcomes. Interdisciplinary education at all levels of cardiac care, including preoperative assessment, intraoperative surgical and anesthetic details, and postoperative critical care management, were major goals for our medical missions.
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