Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital pioneering complex heart surgeries

– as Guyana observes World Heart Day

World Heart Day 2021 is being observed today (September 29) under the theme ‘Use Heart to Connect’, and this year’s observance is about individuals connecting with their hearts, ensuring that it is being cared for, and leveraging the power of technology to link every heart everywhere.
World Heart Day promotes a healthy lifestyle and dietary habits, with a major goal being to increase public knowledge about the relevance of healthy eating and physical activity in lowering the risk of heart disease.
Medical studies have confirmed that altering lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of heart-related disorders by 50 per cent.
This is the view of Professor Dr Prashant Vaijaynath, a Cardiac Surgeon from India who recently conducted at least six complex heart surgeries in Guyana with a team of surgeons at the Balwant Singh Hospital.

Among those surgeries was a pediatric cardiac surgery and a mitral valve replacement surgery.
Dr Vaijaynath recently noted that the current COVID-19 health crisis has brought to light the critical need to create new and innovative ways to bring heart health awareness to more individuals, especially those with limited access to resources and medical care.
World Heart Day 2021 mandates the power of digital health to promote worldwide awareness, prevention, and management of cardiovascular diseases.
Taking a closer look at the Guyana situation, heart-health is not widely discussed, and many persons suffer silently. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has listed ischemic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease among the top leading causes of death in Guyana.
World Health Organisation statistics shows that, in 2016, 34% of all deaths in Guyana were related to cardiovascular diseases, making it the leading cause of death in the country at that time. Today, updated statistics contribute to worldwide numbers compiled by the CDC, recording a heart disease-related death every 36 seconds.
With this information, Dr Vaijaynath sought to dispel myths about heart health. “A 45-minute brisk walk or aerobic exercise is beneficial to your heart health. However, weightlifting and gym workouts aren’t always beneficial to your cardiovascular health. It’s also a myth that women are less susceptible to cardiovascular disease…. Cardiovascular Disease is six times more common in women than breast cancer.” Dr Vaijaynath stated.
At this point, he emphasised that a cardiac check should be a priority when medical check-ups are being conducted. He believes that the more people keep abreast with their heart health, the better chance they have of preventing a disease or heart complication due to poor health.
Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, any form of heart complication counts as comorbidity to persons who have contracted the virus, with their chances being high of landing in the Intensive Care Unit, and even resulting in death.
The virus places tremendous pressure on the heart, and an unhealthy heart does not have a good chance of withstanding that pressure. This is not limited to persons over the age of 50; anyone and everyone can be affected.
Dr Balwant Singh Jr, Chairman of Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital, had mentioned that, “Another fallacy is that young people are immune to heart disease. It’s no longer true that cardiovascular problems affect just people in their 50s and 60s. Even people in their 30s are experiencing these issues these days. Indeed, they are prone to sudden heart attacks that can be fatal due to lifestyle behaviours such as junk food, alcohol consumption, smoking, and stress.”
To this end, a few heart-healthy tips were recommended, and they include a healthy and balanced diet, staying hydrated, limited sugar consumption, and exercise.
For those recovering from COVID-19 who have been diagnosed with heart complications, Professor Dr Vaijaynath recommended a minimum of eight hours’ sleep, stress management, keeping up with prescribed medication and doctor’s advice; and, most importantly, eating healthy.