Ireland has the lowest number of cardiologists per head of population in the developed world, leading cardiologists of the Irish Cardiac Society (ICS) outlined yesterday.
Their a.g.m. in Killarney heard that heart disease remains the number one killer in Ireland, and death from cardiovascular and coronary heart disease far exceeds other European countries.
Dr Joseph Galvin, secretary of the ICS, told how Ireland had around 27 cardiologists, or seven per million in population. In Greece the figure was 120 cardiologists per million. Nine new cardiologists were appointed last year, six of them in the Dublin area and seven were promised for next year, but the numbers were still far too low.
More community initiatives to train lay people in CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) were also needed, especially in the Republic.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said the Government had committed €54 million to the building healthier hearts strategy implementation in its first four years and this had funded the appointment of almost 800 new staff including 328 hospital-based professionals. Some 17 additional consultant cardiologists were being appointed and this was resulting in "substantially increased cardiology diagnostic and treatment services and providing more accessible, equitable and better quality care" for cardiac patients.
The 109 additional cardiac rehabilitation staff had allowed for a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation staff tailored to the needs of the patients in most acute hospitals. The 17 additional cardiologists would bring up Ireland's per capita rate.
Dr Tom Trouton, treasurer of the ICS, said there was also a need for public access to heart resuscitation technology such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in order to bring down death rates from cardiac arrest in the community.Body mass index appeared to be one of the key factors in tackling heart disease.
When weight was reduced there were knock-on effects on improved cholestoral levels, reduced blood pressure and on other risk factors, Dr Michael Ryan, consultant chemical pathologist, Antrim Area Hospital outlined.
This was particularly important given the expected "vast numbers" of people presenting with insulin resistance and diabetes in the next number of years. As diabetes and insulin resistance begins to take hold in this country "we will have a serious epidemic of premature stroke and heart disease," Dr Ryan said.