KARACHI, April 1: Speakers at the three-day Saarc Congress of Cardiology on Saturday supported the demand that the experts of vascular diseases be exempted from visa and other restrictions to visit member countries.
The demand came from Vice-President of the Congress Aneel Kumar and Dr. W. S. Santharaj from Sri Lanka.
President of the Congress, Prof Mansoor Ahmed, Dr S.J Stephen, Prof Karamat Ali Shah, Dr Feroz Memon, Prof Shaheryar A. Shaikh, Prof Abdul Samad, Prof Ejaz Vohra, Dr Mansoor Khan and other experts spoke on the occasion.
Prof Mansoor Ahmed told the delegates that the use of bio-engineered stand for angioplasty had been declared successful worldwide.
He said that use of bio-engineered stands had been started in Pakistan, which gave positive results.
He said that vascular diseases were on the rise due to the change in lifestyle. He asked people to adopt a healthy lifestyle so that vascular diseases could be controlled.
Dr Abdul Rasheed Khan said that 50 per cent people of over 50 years of age in Pakistan suffered from vascular diseases. He said that smokers had double the risk of heart attack as compared to non-smokers. He said people who were sedentary had twice the risk of heart diseases as those who were physically active.
The ratio of vascular diseases in men was higher than in women in Pakistan, he observed.
Prof Nadeem Hayat said that the use of angioplasty stand had been declared safe worldwide. He said that raising awareness among general physicians along with sensitizing masses on how to prevent heart-related diseases was necessary.
He emphasized the need for an exchange of technologies among Saarc countries to combat the vascular diseases in the region.—PPI
