In the wake of the death of former Kenya prime minister Raila Odinga, the East African region is once again talking about the growing epidemic of cardiovascular deaths.
The 80-year-old veteran Kenyan leader collapsed during a morning walk and was rushed to Devamatha Hospital, some 50km east of the Indian port city of Kochi. He passed away soon after. According to his attending cardiologist, despite their ‘sincere efforts’ like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other measures, they couldn’t resuscitate the man widely seen as a colossus of East African politics. His life was snatched away by a condition that’s sweeping away lives both young and old at an alarming rate.
Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) have, in the recent past, prematurely claimed the lives of many a Ugandan leader. On September 7, 2024, the country woke up to news of the death of Sarah Mateke Nyirabashitsi, the then Defence and Veteran Affairs minister and daughter of Gisoro strongman Philemon Mateke. yirabashitsi joined former minister Stephen Malinga and celebrated General Aronda Nyakairima on the list of public figures who have succumbed to cardiac-related ailments. Millions of Ugandans whose names don’t make the news headlines have ended up on that dreaded list.
Why is this the case?
Speaking to our sister TV station, NTV-Uganda, in the wake of Nyirabashitsi’s death, the director of the Uganda Heart Institute, Dr John Omagino, quoting a STEPS (Study of Transitions and Education Pathways) study from 2016, said a quarter of Uganda’s adult population, from both rural and urban areas, already have hypertension, which predisposes someone to heart disease. He said heart disease affects the entire human life cycle, from babies born with congenital heart diseases to the oldest people.
Dr Omagino further said internationally, at least one percent of all babies born worldwide have heart disease. When run against the 1.6 million babies born in Uganda per year, 16,000 Ugandans are born with heart disease and, according to Dr Omagino, the job of our healthcare system is to catch these and treat them.
In Uganda, CVD accounts for more than 10 percent of deaths, most of them premature deaths. CVD does not respect society’s class divides, and perhaps this is one reason the country’s forever inward-looking politicians might do well to address the problem.
What is a cardiac arrest?
A cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood to the rest of the body. Think of the heart as a pump that pushes blood around the body. If that pump stops working, the blood stops flowing, which means the brain and other organs don’t get the oxygen they need. This is a very serious condition because, without blood and oxygen, the person loses consciousness within seconds and can die within minutes if nothing is done. The consequences of a cardiac arrest, if one is to survive, are best dealt with in an intensive care unit.
Important points to know:
* Cardiac arrest is different from a heart attack, though a heart attack can sometimes cause it.
* During a cardiac arrest, the person will collapse, stop breathing or breathe in an abnormal way, and have no pulse.
* Immediate action, like CPR or using a defibrillator, is critical. These can keep blood flowing and try to restart the heart until emergency medical help arrives.
Depending on whether it’s In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (IHCA) or Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA), the odds of survival are markedly different. In both instances, quick recognition and intervention can be the difference between life and death. Oftentimes, the time available is barely 15 minutes. Intervention requires a robust healthcare system built from the community level to the national level, with cardiovascular response in mind.
So what needs to be done?
Experts say Uganda needs to channel some funds towards improving cardiovascular research and care. The country, they add, can’t continue existing in a society where its healthcare providers routinely mistake cardiovascular ailments for ulcers. To compound matters, medicines for CVD are some of the least available in healthcare facilities, a lot of our medical practitioners might struggle to perform CPR, let alone read an electrocardiogram or ECG. Ambulance services at the grassroots level don’t rise higher than a vote-buying second-hand Japanese van from a parliamentary aspirant. They’re rarely fuelled, stocked and/or staffed. This patchwork approach is sure to have grim outcomes.