Kenya: 40 Patients to Benefit From Subsidised Heart Surgeries

Nearly 40 patients will benefit from subsidised heart surgery, courtesy of the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and a team of doctors from Germany.

The visiting team alongside doctors from KNH will offer pacemaker surgeries to treat patients who suffer from heart block, a condition that affects the heart's electrical system that controls the rate and rhythm of heartbeats, at lower costs.

Consequently, the patients, all of whom suffer from weak or irregular heartbeat, will have a pacemaker inserted just above their hearts to correct the anomaly.

A pacemaker is a medical device that helps to control abnormal heart rhythms.

It uses small amounts of electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate.

Dr Bernard Gitura, a cardiologist at KNH, said a pacemaker costs between Sh270, 000 and Sh300, 000.

"However, the visiting team is donating the devices. Patients are only expected to cover the cost of using the facilities at KNH by only paying Sh20, 000," said Dr Gitura.

Chief Cardiologist of the East African Heart Rhythm Project Carsten Walter Israel told Daily Nation on Wednesday even though heart ailments are common, they are not treated until it's late.

He said: "When the heart does not pump enough blood to the body, it can cause symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath or fainting. Unfortunately this can be misdiagnosed and by the time one seeks treatment, severe damage to organs has already been done."

"Thus, the primary purpose of a pacemaker is to maintain an adequate heart rate, either because the heart's natural pacemaker is not fast enough or there is a block in the heart's electrical conduction system."

He says the annual surgeries have since installed over 180 pacemakers and helped to review and change batteries of patients with the device.

The 10-day project will see the patients given pacemakers that will not run out of batteries until after 10 to 15 years when they will be replaced.