He also serves as the Chief Freelance Specialist of the Ministry of Health in pediatric cardiac surgery.
Text of the speech:
“Every year, the number of cases of congenital heart defects (CHD) in children increases in our country, which becomes a serious problem for the healthcare system. Research shows that due to insufficient and delayed medical assistance, as well as late diagnosis, the level of child mortality is rising. In the absence of urgent surgical assistance or intensive therapy, up to 50% of newborns and young children with CHD may die within the first year of life. Those who survive this critical stage face progressive heart failure and other complications, which can lead to death at a later age or severe disability, which, in turn, causes significant harm to the economic development of the country.
Today, interventional cardiology is rapidly advancing, including minimally invasive and percutaneous procedures for both adults and children. Interventions concerning congenital heart defects are performed both in infancy and intrauterinely during pregnancy.
Firstly, alongside state institutions where percutaneous interventions for cardiovascular diseases are carried out, several private clinics have emerged offering similar services, including cardiac surgical assistance, in Bishkek, Osh, and Manas. The number of such centers is expected to grow, both public and private.
Therefore, to comply with current international standards in cardiac surgical assistance, optimal use of available resources, and ensure the safety of procedures, as well as prevent complications that may lead to fatalities, it is extremely important to develop and approve the “Regulations on Cardiac Centers,” which will engage in interventional cardiac surgery and open-heart surgeries. This will help significantly reduce cases of unjustified stenting in coronary artery disease in adults when there are no objective indications for such procedures, for example, with a 70% vessel occlusion without signs of acute ischemic myocardial damage, or with lesions of the left anterior descending coronary artery with a high risk of restenosis, which may complicate future coronary artery bypass grafting (in such cases, coronary artery bypass grafting would be more preferable).
This regulation should outline unified standards for the operation and equipment of such centers, regardless of their ownership structure. All cardiac centers and medical institutions where cardiology centers operate must be registered with the Ministry of Health.
Secondly, the state and government, under the leadership of the President, are actively addressing health protection issues, allocating significant financial resources for the healthcare sector. It is important to manage these resources rationally. In particular, more than 10 echocardiographs and over 5 angiographs have been purchased for the regions at a cost of more than 350 million soms. Funding for the angiographs has already been transferred, and suppliers are ready to install the expensive equipment; however, the facilities and qualified personnel to work with it have not yet been prepared. Thus, these funds could be used this year for extremely important needs, such as pediatric cardiology, oncology, and other areas.
Furthermore, it is necessary to create a cardiac surgery department in Osh to perform surgeries on children with congenital heart defects and implement operations for children with complex congenital heart defects, especially those aged 1 to 3 years, at the Southern Regional Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in Manas.
I believe that detailed analysis and planning will significantly improve the quality of high-tech medical assistance to the population, standardize it, and ensure compliance with modern international standards.”
