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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke, Senior Health Reporter
WHEN she discovered that she was pregnant, Ms Margret Vareta was overjoyed and was looking forward to enjoying her pregnancy and motherhood.
But instead of experiencing all the joys that come with the baby’s first kick or their little movements, she spent most of the time sleeping. She could not explain why she was always feeling tired.
“After giving birth, my feet started swelling and I went back to the hospital in Masvingo where I was staying at that time. That is when I found out that my heart was not functioning properly. I was referred to Parirenyatwa and they booked me for theatre after doing all the necessary tests,” she said.
Ms Vareta had her open heart surgery at the hospital on Monday and she is recovering well. She was excited at finally being able to lead a normal life and enjoy time with her baby.
Hers is not an isolated incident.
There are numerous people affected by cardiovascular disease with more than 20,5 million dying every year across the world. Over three quarters of these deaths take place in low-income and middle-income countries.
Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels that include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
While heart diseases are common, many people, like Ms Vareta, are often diagnosed late or face challenges in getting corrective surgery.
In the past years, many in Zimbabwe had to travel to India, Sudan, South Africa and other countries to get the surgery done.
While this was an option for those who could raise the money required for travel and the procedure, many failed and suffered in silence until the resumption of open heart surgeries at Parirenyatwa last year.
So far, nearly 40 patients have had access to the life-saving operation.
Specialist cardiothoracic surgeon and head of the open heart surgery team at Parirenyatwa Dr Simukayi Machawira said the programme was moving well and benefitting a lot of people who could not ordinarily afford it in the past.
“The journey has been fairly fruitful and we are almost at patient number 40. We have obviously faced our challenges, which is mainly with procurement of consumables. However, I’m happy to say despite the challenges, we are very happy with the progress we have made. We are having a good outcome for our patients, and our patients are very happy with our services,” he said
“Ever since we started, we have lost four patients. Two of them succumbed to infection, one succumbed to kidney failure, and one, unfortunately, bled post-operatively and we were unable to get blood and blood products that we needed for that patient. The others have done very well, except one who died, close to a year after the surgery.”
But with all this success, Dr Machawira highlights the need for more education among the public on the availability of services in the country.
This is because quite a number of Zimbabweans still seek care outside the country.
World Heart Day on September 29 serves as a reminder that the country is taking the necessary measures to ensure that heart patients have access to affordable health care.
The theme for this year’s commemorations is “One heart at a time” and aims to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease and emphasises the importance of heart health and urges leaders to take action in addressing this global health issue.
ZimHeart Trust, a support group established to create awareness about heart disease while supporting heart patients, is pushing the agenda to have more people diagnosed and linked to care.
The trust’s co-founder, Mr Farai Chirikure, said it was important for people to know how the condition presented so that they can get screened and treated.
“Most people are not diagnosed on time and they do not even recognise the symptoms of heart conditions when they fall with them. So we created this support group to support the communities in understanding, preventing and also seeking treatment on time when they suffer from these heart conditions. As a trust, we have a platform with about 300 members, and most of them have gone through treatment, but with some yet to go through treatment. So we counsel those that are ready for procedures and try to demystify these heart conditions. We also advise them of the post-surgery care and all that,” he said.
Mr Chirikure, who underwent heart surgery 10 years ago, encouraged Zimbabweans to use the locally available care. He also called on people to be on the lookout for symptoms that could be linked with heart diseases to ensure they get care early.
“We encourage them to seek help on time and also get the necessary procedures done on time. What happens is people are diagnosed at different stages. Some are diagnosed when it’s very late and they require urgent treatment. Some, like myself, I was only diagnosed in 1994, but I only had to have the surgery done in 2014, which was 20 years later, but I was being monitored regularly.
“So people need to seek medical attention and get advice on when and how soon the procedures should be done so that there are no complications that will arise due to delays in seeking medical procedures,” he added.
In 2013, WHO member states agreed on global mechanisms to reduce the avoidable burden of non-communicable diseases, including a global action plan for the prevention and control of these diseases.
This plan aims to reduce the number of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 25 percent by 2025 through nine voluntary global targets, two of which focus on preventing and controlling cardiovascular diseases.
The aim is to reduce the global prevalence of high blood pressure by 25 percent and to have at least 50 percent of eligible people receive drug therapy and counselling to prevent heart attacks and strokes by 2025.
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