Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including heart attack, is the leading cause of death globally as well as in Pakistan.
The latest data prepared by WHO shows that 240,720 deaths in 2020 were due to heart attack (Myocardial Infarction) in Pakistan. The organization of the one-day workshop on ‘Echocardiography’, an important technique that uses ultrasound to examine heart functions, will provide a profound understanding to the participants.
Prof. Dr. Farzana Shaheen, Director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, expressed these views while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the capacity-building one-day workshop on ‘Echocardiography’ held at the Stem Cell Research Laboratory, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD), University of Karachi, on Saturday. Dr. Saleem Akhtar, Clinical Associate Professor and Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist at Aga Khan University (AKU), and Dr. Asmat Salim, Professor at PCMD, also spoke. Dr. Irfan Khan, Assistant Professor at AKU, Dr. Rida-e-Maria Qazi, Postdoctoral Fellow at AKU, Ms. Hina Ali, Laboratory Technologist Echocardiography at AKU, and Dr. Nadia Naeem from Dow University of Health and Sciences were the resource persons of the workshop.
Prof. Farzana Shaheen said that an estimated 17.9 million people died of CVDs in 2019, representing 32 percent of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85 percent were due to heart attack and stroke, she said, adding that cardiovascular diseases are on the rise in Pakistan. The burden of cardiovascular disease is steadily increasing and becoming more expensive in Pakistan, she said.
The director appreciated Prof. Asmat Salim and her team’s efforts to organize such a useful workshop and said that echocardiography was the most useful technique used to diagnose, manage, and follow up patients with suspected or known heart diseases.
Dr. Saleem Akhtar said that Echocardiography is an important technique for diagnosing and managing cardiovascular diseases. Cardiologists use this technology to diagnose a variety of cardiac disorders. He thanked the organizers for inviting him to this workshop. He was optimistic that this workshop would benefit clinicians and basic scientists and pave the way for future clinical and basic research projects.
In her speech, Prof. Asmat Salim said this workshop was a blend of clinical and basic research scientists. She highlighted the importance of echocardiography, and said that echocardiography was vital to the assessment and management of cardiac diseases. According to WHO, heart attack, among all cardiac diseases, has the highest morbidity and mortality rate, she mentioned, adding that it is important to detect cardiovascular disease as early as possible so that management with counseling and medicines can begin. Healthcare providers use the images from echocardiography to diagnose heart disease and other heart conditions.
She thanked all organizers including the students of Stem Cell Laboratory and resource persons for playing a significant role in the workshop organization.
