Cardiology Department Hosts Cardiac Symposium 2026
Held Under the Theme, "Healthy hearts, healthy Guyana: Advancing prevention of heart disease".
The conference was very well attended, with almost 300 healthcare workers attending in person, and topics focused on prevention and early detection of heart disease. The opening speaker, Dr Navin Rambarran, Director of Medical Services, highlighted the trends in younger people presenting with heart disease and the major steps being undertaken by GPHC to advance cardiac care at the institution. Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, Director General of the Ministry of Health, thanked the organisers of the conference and highlighted the importance of getting the message of prevention of CAD to all regions of Guyana. He also highlighted the work that regional teams are doing in both infrastructural and human resource development.
Dr. Michael Chin, head of cardiology and medical services at the GPHC, was the presenter for the Annual Doobay Memorial Lecture, presenting on advancing early detection of heart disease in Guyana. He indicated Guyana continues to have a high burden of heart disease due to the high prevalence of risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obesity, smoking, a positive family history of CAD and also the high prevalence of CAD in the Indo-Guyanese population. He emphasised that patients who develop chest pain, heart attacks, and heart failure already have advanced coronary artery disease, and that there is a need to focus on identifying patients with risk factors and subclinical CAD before the progression to advanced CAD. This goal can be achieved through aggressive early population screening and aggressive management of traditional risk factors, especially of younger people.
He highlighted the use of additional diagnostic tools, such as coronary calcium score and lipoprotein(a) testing, to aid in the diagnosis of subclinical CAD that can be done in selected patients. The coronary calcium score is obtained by a CT scan, and if calcium is detected, this indicates the presence of plaques, which is an early sign of heart disease. Individuals with a positive calcium score can benefit from lipid-lowering medications such as statins. Lipoprotein(a) is present in about 20% of the population, and if it is elevated, the result indicates an increased risk of heart disease, heart attacks and stroke. Persons who have an elevated lipoprotein(a) would need aggressive management of risk factors for heart disease.
He stressed the need to follow the ABCDEF approach, which includes the following: Blood pressure below 130/80, HbA1c below 7%, BMI below 25, lipid-lowering therapy for elevated cholesterol, cessation of cigarette smoking, heart-healthy diet, regular exercise and follow-up with a physician.
Dr. Terrence Haynes, an interventional cardiologist, discussed the coronary angiogram findings in premature coronary disease in a number of young patients presenting with heart attacks and the challenges in dealing with such patients in the Cath lab.
Dr Kelecia Niles, a cardiologist at the GPHC, highlighted the benefits of lipid-lowering therapy such as statins for patients who have been diagnosed with heart disease and also for patients who have risk factors for heart disease, especially diabetics and those with elevated cholesterol.
Ms. Djmilsa Lambert, nutritionist at the GPHC, emphasised the importance of a heart-healthy diet using local vegetables and fruits. The importance of having 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day; eating more whole grain starches instead of refined starches; consuming fish and vegetable proteins such as lentils and lean chicken as the main protein source; and the use of olive oil instead of other refined oils.
Other topics included chest pain evaluation in stable CAD, heart-healthy diet, use of echocardiogram, management of mitral regurgitation and management of atrial fibrillation. The other presenters were Dr Mirta Perez, Dr Jesus Alveraz, Dr Avlon Jeffrey, Dr Dhanesh Persaud and Dr Mark Reddi.
During the conference three cath lab nurses, Marisa Jeffers, Shaynese Moore and Kevon Harry, received their certificates of competence as cath lab nurses presented by Dr Mahendra Carpen, Dr Navin Rambarran and Dr Vishwa Mahadeo.
The yearly cardiac symposium, organised by the cardiology department, aims to further knowledge in cardiovascular disease among health care workers across Guyana and was well received this year by the attendees. It was supported by the GPHC and local sponsors, namely BPI Guyana, Apotex, Ansa Mcal, Acado, Woodlands Hospital and SOCA.
