The National Cardiothoracic Centre is calling on the public to contribute to the course of cardiothoracic conditions in the country.

This comes on the back of a meeting with IT Consortium, a non-governmental organisation, which made a cash donation of Sixty-Seven thousand, Five hundred Ghana cedis to support cardiothoracic surgeries in the country.

Diseases of the heart or blood vessels, which include Coronary artery disease (CAD), Stroke, Peripheral arterial disease and aortic disease, have assumed significant importance in the global public health arena.

Cardio Vascular Diseases are now regarded as the number one cause of death globally and are projected to remain so for many years to come.

In 2012, an estimated 17.5 million people died from CVDs, representing 31% of all global deaths (2). Of these deaths, an estimated 7.4 million were due to Cardio Artery Disease and 6.7 million were due to stroke.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the National Cardiothoracic centre, the Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the National Cardiothoracic Centre of Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Kow Entua-Mensah called for more support for patients with Cardiothoracic conditions.

“We want to use this opportunity to encourage many more people to get onto this and by kind courtesy of IT Consortium, it has become easier to donate to the cardiothoracic centre now and you do not have to worry about the amount you are going to pay.”

“Maybe you think the amount is too small but every little cedi you can give us is good enough for us, all you have to do is go to the chango app and make your donation,” he said.

He further indicated that the centre receives over a hundred heart disease cases monthly, hence they need more support.

“Every week, the national cardiothoracic centre receives close to twenty to thirty new cases of heart conditions of various types. Those who are born with heart conditions and others who acquire heart conditions later on, so the conditions are really high in both adults and children. That means in a month, we receive more than a hundred cases of heart diseases of various types,” he added.

Speaking to Citi News, the Chief Executive of IT Consortium, Romeo Bujay explained the motivation behind the organisation’s donation.

“A lot of people may be wondering why Cardio and not any other entity or unit of Korle-bu or elsewhere, but for us as an institution, we have some emotional attachment to Cardio because one of our own happened to be here and the support that was given him.”

“The care that was given him and as he looked around he realized that this is something we can also partner to be able to encourage more people so after doing a lot of investigation, we recognized that although people are supporting, individuals are not pulling in although once in a while something like that come through. So aside the platform that can be used by every unit in Korle-bu or elsewhere, we have a special attachment to cardio,” he said.

He further urged people to contribute to the course of the cardiothoracic centre.

“I will encourage people to pass here during clinic days, and you will really see the need to help. So looking at children and looking at the fact that this type of condition is not supported by the health insurance, then we have to be the health insurance for the people who come here,” he added.