The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

HEART disease remains The Bahamas’ leading cause of death, with many people unaware they are living with the condition until it becomes life-threatening, according to Doctors Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr Sheena Antonio-Collie.

Her warning came as the hospital revealed that it has performed nearly 70 cardiac catheterisations since restoring the procedure in February, allowing doctors to identify and treat blocked arteries before they trigger heart attacks or heart failure.

Cardiac catheterisation allows doctors to examine the blood vessels surrounding the heart and remove plaque build-up that can lead to serious cardiac events.

Patients are referred for the procedure through Doctors Hospital’s primary care network and emergency department, as well as by external physicians.

“We’ve performed just under 70 catheterisations. We’ve seen several 100 patients undergo the cardiac calcium score testing,” Dr Antonio-Collie said.

She said some patients who showed plaque build-up during preventative screening later required catheterisation despite having no symptoms.

“The unfortunate thing is a lot of people are walking around with heart disease and have no idea that they have heart disease,” she said.

Dr Antonio-Collie said untreated heart disease also places a heavy burden on the healthcare system, with some patients repeatedly admitted to hospital when they do not receive certain interventions.

“In terms of the burden on the health system, high burden because oftentimes without certain types of intervention, patients are in and out of the hospital very, very frequently because of heart disease,” she said.

She said people living with heart disease may require medication for the rest of their lives and can suffer reduced mobility, limiting their ability to work or care for their families as they once did.

Doctors Hospital said prevention remains central to its strategy, with encouraging results recorded among patients diagnosed with chronic conditions during routine screenings.

Sherzel Smith, executive director of the Outpatient Centre, said 70 percent of patients diagnosed with hypertension recorded lower blood pressure at later visits after following treatment plans and receiving support through nutrition and lifestyle management services.

She said interventions had also prevented many patients with pre-diabetes from developing diabetes.

“So with our patients who come in pre-diabetic, in 90 percent of cases at their next visit, they are no longer pre-diabetic, and that is critical because those are persons who, instead of going down a road of an illness that we know contributes heavily to our morbidity and our mortality, that has been reversed through the intervention of our physicians, the intervention of lifestyle management, medications, and so on and so forth,” she said.

Ms Smith said annual physical examinations are often a patient’s first point of contact with the healthcare system and give physicians an opportunity to detect illnesses before they develop into medical emergencies.

Doctors Hospital expects to conduct about 10,000 annual physicals this year as part of an estimated 44,000 to 50,000 outpatient visits across its nine clinics in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Exuma.

The outpatient network provides primary and preventative care, specialist clinics, urgent care, laboratory services, imaging and pharmacy services.

Doctors Hospital chief executive officer Dennis Deveaux said patient intake has risen by about eight percent, reflecting increasing demand for outpatient care.

Mr Deveaux said the hospital expects to record as many as 50,000 outpatient visits this year, including between 8,000 and 10,000 annual physicals. He said the average charge for a physical is about $370.

Ms Smith said about 2,000 outpatient visits were made by tourists through the hospital’s clinics at Baha Mar and the Royal Beach Club, which also serve employees working at those locations.