HYDERABAD, Sept 19: It is very sad to note that the services of one of the local pioneers in treatment of heart diseases, Professor Abdul Karim Abbasi, who died here the other day, have gone unacknowledged.

He was born in Bushery, Nawabshah, on Jan 5, 1932, and did his matriculation from DC High School, Nawabshah, in 1951.

In 1958, he secured first position in MBBS from the Liaquat Medical College, Hyderabad, with distinction in anatomy.

In 1962, he did his MRCP from Edinburgh, UK, with cardiology as a special subject and FRCP from the same city in 1978.

Prof Abbasi was the first LMC post-graduate student to do his MRCP.

He did his internship from Augustana Hospital, Chicago, USA, from 1959 to 1960.

He did many other courses in cardiology in the USA and the UK, including the Harvard Medical School.

He was appointed assistant professor of cardiology in the LMC, Jamshoro, in 1963 and professor and head of the department of cardiology in 1973. He held this post till June 1991, a record in itself.

He served as executive director and professor of cardiology in the National Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases, Karachi, from June 1991 to Jan 1992.

He was the seniormost professor in cardiology throughout Pakistan.

He organized the third annual international cardiology conference of the Pakistan Cardiac Society at Hyderabad in 1985.

He initiated a drive to build a modern cardiac care unit (CCU) in the LMC Hospital, Hyderabad, a 14-bed unit which was commissioned in 1980 in the name of a philanthropist, “Deewan Mushtaq Coronary Unit”. He held the management of this unit up to June 1991.

Prof Abbasi also established a modern CCU at the Sukkur Civil Hospital in 1983 with the financial assistance of philanthropists.

He also attended several international and national seminars and read important papers on different aspects of cardiology.

He was buried unsung at the graveyard of Baban Shah Colony on Sept 9.—Aziz Malik