"There were not a few cases when we had to offer additional support with our on-duty cardiologist
During the year under review there were 4000 patient visits to the surgeries and laboratories of the Cardiology Clinic of Paphos General Hospital for examination, for ultrasound scans, for fatigue tests, for checking pacemaker and defibrillator devices and for 24-hour recording of rhythm and blood pressure, according to the Director of the Cardiology Clinic of Paphos General Hospital Dr. Dr. Joseph Moutiris, speaking at the event held today to mark the end of 2021, said that they carried out a few dozen operations in the operating room to place a pacemaker or defibrillator in suitable patients, and transferred about 100 patients for primary angioplasty or heart surgery in hospitals offering this service.
He also pointed out that during the year they made 824 hospitalizations of cardiac patients in the Intensive Care Unit and the Cardiology ward.
He added that the main diagnoses of the inpatients were heart failure, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, valve disease, mainly mitral and aortic valve disease, hypertensive heart disease, pulmonary embolism and atrioventricular blocks.
Heart failure is, he said, at the top of the etiological table followed by coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation. He also said in-hospital mortality remained relatively low, lower than previous years and hovered at 1.5%, with heart failure and coronary artery disease as the main causes.
Dr Moutiris, reviewing the year, said that during the year they also strengthened the Covid - 19 ward of Paphos Hospital and Limassol Hospital, providing 2 cardiologists to strengthen both wards.
There were not a few cases when it was necessary, he continued, "to offer additional support with the on-duty cardiologist of our Clinic, especially when patients with Covid- 19 presented symptoms of acute infarction or acute coronary syndrome," adding that the reinforcement of Covid- 19 wards with a cardiologist will continue this year and for as long as needed.
In addition, Dr. Mutiris resubmitted his recommendation today for coverage with a cardiologist from their Clinic at Gold City Hospital. Indeed, to enhance the capacity of the general practitioners of the Polis Hospital, who work in the emergency departments, our Clinic, he said, is ready to provide them with the necessary training courses to improve their capacity for the first treatment of cardiac emergencies such as acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, dissecting aortic aneurysm, pulmonary embolism, etc.This way they will be in a better position to provide initial treatment to these difficult cases before transferring them by ambulance to Paphos General Hospital for further treatment, he added.
Regarding the goals for 2022, Dr. Moutiris referred to their desire to continue to provide high quality medical care to patients and to further strengthen the Clinic.
In this context, he said, "we consider necessary the purchase of an angiograph for the operation of an Interventional Cardiology laboratory and the operation of an Intensive Cardiac Care Unit consisting of 4 beds for the hospitalization of patients with myocardial infarction, after primary angioplasty, as well as patients with acute coronary syndrome and with severe heart failure."
He also added that the interventional laboratory and the intensive cardiology unit are considered vital for the survival of the cardiology clinic, so that it can continue to perform its role as the only fully organized public cardiology clinic in Paphos province.
Finally, he announced that in the educational field, 4 cardiology workshops will be organized this year, one per quarter, for the continuing education of the hospital's nursing staff, with the first one already scheduled for January 20.
There will also be an ALS-level workshop for nursing staff in the cardiology clinic to improve their ability to deal with cardiopulmonary arrest.
We will continue to provide clinical education to students and encourage the writing of papers for publication, he said, adding that there will already be two papers from their clinic in the first issue of the Cyprus Cardiology Journal, which is expected to be published in early January, he concluded.
Source: CNA
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