Rashid Hospital becomes first centre in the Middle East to perform three live heart procedures for 2016’s European Association of Cardiovascular Intervention

Dubai, 19th May, 2016 (WAM): Cardiologists from Rashid Hospital performed three live procedures, that were transmitted to more than 20,000 cardiologists who attended the annual meeting of the European Association of Cardiovascular Interventions, which is a world-leading congress in Interventional Cardiology that is taking place in Paris. Live transmission of cardiology procedures provides cardiologists with an opportunity to see the procedures as if they are present in the cath lab and presents them an opportunity to witness techniques shown by experienced and skilled cardiologists. World over, transmission of such procedures from centres of excellence is being done as an effective educational tool. Dr Fahad Baslaib, consultant interventional cardiologist and director of Rashid Hospital's cardiology department, performed the procedures with this team. Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, said, " We are extremely proud of our medical professionals and the fact that DHA’s cardiology centre has been selected for the fifth time by various international conferences to broadcast live its interventional cardiology procedures highlights the high-level quality of care that the centres provide as well as reflects the qualification and expertise of the DHA’s cardiology team. It’s a proud moment, for the DHA and Dubai’s heath sector." Dr Baslaib said: "Live procedures provide an opportunity to transmit knowledge and expertise across the world and this helps ensure cardiologists from across the globe are up-to-date with the latest in their field and thus help provide advanced levels of care to patients. The first case was for a 30-year-old Pakistani expatriate with diabetes and hypertension, the procedure performed was to correct the narrowing of the main artery. The latest procedure, which is used in certain cases, where the extent of the narrowed artery is difficult to interpret, was used for this patient. The second case was a 60-year-old Indian expatriate who needed opening of two major arteries. During the live transmission, stenting was performed using a Bioabsorbable Scaffold in an overlapping fashion. Using this scaffold ensures that it dissolves on its own in two years and leaves no metal in the artery. The last case is a 46-year-old Pakistani expatriate hypertensive patient who was admitted with chest pain and found to have narrowing in one of the main artery and its side branch. For this procedure two stents as a branching technique was performed, this procedure is very specialized and requires absolute precision. Previously, DHA cardiology centres have successfully conducted live transmissions earlier for major conferences in the US, Europe and the Gulf. – Emirates News Agency, WAM - http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395295680246.html