The specialist spoke regarding a new treatment that allows patients a faster recovery and fewer complications when performing the procedure.
Dr. Héctor Martínez, President of the American College of Cardiology. Photo: Journal of Medicine and Public Health. Glorianis Valentine.
In an exclusive interview with the Journal of Medicine and Public HealthDr. Hector MartínezPresident of the American College of Cardiologyindicated that the main challenges for cardiologists in Isla They are aimed at optimizing the progress in treatment.
Martinez reported that the treatment Nobel of the illness Coronary is he use of revascularization therapiessuch as: surgery, the expander and the replacement of the valve aortic. The last mentioned has been a particularly revealing topic, because the specialist explained “today we have many techniques, not necessarily the surgical technique, but we can do a percutaneous technique, which makes the patients recover very quickly.”
This innovative treatment allows the patients can be recovered in a period of 6 hours, commented the expert, referring to the cases he has worked on; however, the observation in the hospital has a period of time between 24 to 48 hours. The candidates for this type of therapy are those with a diagnosis of aortic stenosis, older than 75 years, the latter because they are the patients who benefit most from this type of treatment.
Likewise, the specialist spoke regarding the new evidence of this therapy, emphasizing that it is possible that it might benefit a larger number of patientsas he explained it “there is new evidence that these valves, that we did have evidence that they lasted at least 10 years, but we know that they probably last longer”.
From another perspective, it was emphasis on cardiovascular diseaseand called on doctors: “we have to be responsible in terms of how we can help the patientsbefore a stroke occurs.
Likewise, he emphasized the importance of keeping doctors educated in order to have a healthier population, in the same way, he stressed that it is crucial to identify the cause of the disease in order to avoid other pathologies and possible complications, for that reason it is recommended that the patients visit a cardiologist, but also a neurologist, in order to have a more specific and individualized direction of therapy, either with antiplatelet drugs or novel drugs, which are anticoagulants.
Regarding the increase in cases and cardiovascular diseases, the expert pointed out, “we see it more and more and we are more senile”, however, he also explained that there might be a relationship with the pandemic caused by COVID-19, however he emphasized that the cause is not the virus, but the change in people’s behavior, because it is seen more frequently than the patients they prefer to be cooped up, which leads to increased food portions, decreased exercise, weight gain, and sleep problems.
However, he also discussed risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and genetics. The last mentioned, since it is not a modifiable factor, it is recommended to use a more aggressive treatment in those modifiable factors, in order to avoid complications and severity, at the earliest possible age.
The convention was characterized by having speakers and lecturers from the United States, famous figures in the field of cardiology who spoke regarding the new therapies available on the Island, in the same way, the president highlighted the educational work that the entity has and the importance of the collaboration between Puerto Rico and the United States to educate cardiologists on the island.
Lastly, the expert extolled the role of the American College of Cardiology in finding talent and identifying potential leaders on the Island, however, he also made a strong call on hospitals and the government to provide doctors with all the necessary resources to treat a the patientsbecause there is a limitation in support in terms of medical plans.
See the full interview:
