Since November 2023, Blantyre Adventist Hospital (BAH) has provided free treatment to at least 48 patients with varying heart conditions during three open heart surgery camps.
The patients include eight who underwent open heart surgeries this month at BAH where two more are expected to undergo the procedure today.
During the camps, 18 patients were fitted with pacemakers for heart block while 30 have undergone open heart surgery which involves opening the chest to treat problems related to the heart.
The heart surgery camps have been conducted with support from Heart for Mission International (H4MI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
Speaking dur ing a camp conclusion briefing in Blantyre yesterday, cardiothoracic surgeon Arega Fekadu Leta said many of the patients were affected by rheumatic heart disease with damage in multiple valves.
He said: “This service was needed in Malawi many years ago. If all stakeholders continue to rally behind this initiative, we can make it sustainable and reach out to the hundreds of people who need this service.”
The patients who receive treatment at the camps are identified through screening at central hospitals, including Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre.
One of the patients, Thandiwe Sitima , a resident of Angelo Goveya in Blantyre, was recommended for surgery after showing symptoms such as shortness of breath and heart palpitations.
She said: “I was earlier told that I needed to go to South Africa or India for treatment but later I was taken to Blantyre Adventist Hospital where I was treated. I am grateful because now I am able to live a healthy life and support my family.”
Another patient , 34-year-old Felix Mayani, said he had a swollen heart and his leg got swollen as well which made walking difficult for him.
An open-heart surgery abroad costs about $12 000 (about K21 million), according to BAH chief executive officer Kirby Kasinja.
He said BAH plans to establish a permanent cardiology centre in Blantyre in the next three years so that people should access heart surgery locally.
“We already have land and designs for the building, we have some of the equipment which we use for the camps and some Malawian medical workers are undergoing training, so we are confident we will pull it off,” said Kasinja.
QECH consultant c a r d i o l o g i s t D a v i d McCarty, who works ful l-time at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes), said there has been talk about having a cardiac centre since president Bingu wa Mutharika died of cardiac arrest in 2012 but things have been moving slowly.
“Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in Malawi for people who are not suffering from infectious diseases and BAH should be applauded for its vision to establish a heart centre in the country,” he said.
In September last year, Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said there were over 500 heart patients on the waiting list to be referred for treatment outside the country.
