CHI to tackle heart rhythm disorders - Resident Cardiologist

CHI to tackle heart rhythm disorders – Resident Cardiologist

Nov 29, 2012 News

While the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) is currently providing a reliable cardiac service, there is yet room for major improvement, an undertaking that the new Resident Cardiologist, Dr Mahendra Carpen, is set to take head-on.
He said that it is his vision for an expanded operation during an interview with this publication even as he intimated ambitious plans for the heart facility which is currently accommodated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
“So far, what we have is good and capable of serving most of the needs but there are some things, such as dealing with heart rhythm disorders that we do not offer right now.”

CHI’s Resident Cardiologist, Dr Mahendra Carpen

With radio frequency energy, experts the likes of Dr Carpen are able to burn specific conduction parts of the heart that cause people to have fast or slow heart beats. “We can do those things in the future but we don’t have the specialised equipment just yet. I am hoping that we will be able to get that moving. Before we didn’t have the capabilities of doing those things but now we do…”
Not only is Dr Carpen well trained as an Interventional Cardiologist but he also brings to CHI added expertise in the area of Electrophysiology which caters specifically to heart rhythm disorders.
In fact, CHI as a Regional provider of cardiac care, has made Guyana one of the two countries providing Electrophysiology services on a full time basis. “It is possible in Jamaica but they don’t have a full time person there and it is possible in Trinidad which is the only other place in the Caribbean with a fulltime person,” said Dr Carpen.
Since his arrival here three weeks ago at the behest of CHI’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Gary Stephens, Dr Carpen has been rendering an invaluable service to ailing cardiac patients. “Since I have been here we have had outpatient clinics, we have been taking referrals from all around the country including from outside hospitals…We have done angiograms and we have put in stents and pacemakers…The whole scope of what we can do has been somewhat utilised.”
Just this past weekend four successful open-heart operations were conducted at CHI, but according to Dr Carpen, there is still a lot more that can be done. “We are trying to get our system developed to the point where we can actually utilise all the training that we have had over the years to provide a quality service to the public.”
Turning his attention to heart disease prevalence in Guyana, Dr Carpen observed that there is a great deal of very sick people who are in dire need of help, most of whom can access help right at CHI.
Unfortunately there are some that cannot be helped at CHI, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, since according to the Resident Cardiologist there are some who are “too far gone.”
“They are at the end and sometimes that is the harsh reality. It is a tough position to find yourself in when you have to tell someone I can’t do anything for you.”
However, there are others whose lives can be greatly improved through the various cardiac interventions even allowing them to embrace longevity. In recognition of the fact that CHI is not the source for all possible cardiac services, Dr Carpen spoke of strategic moves to collaborate with institutions in Canada and India.
The intention is to ensure that patients’ records are placed in a centralised database thereby paving the way for the patient to get the best help available.
“If we can’t get patients out to other countries then we will try to get the specialists to come. It will take some work and there will be some challenges but we are hoping to make things happen.”
Dr Carpen, who is currently in his late 30s, insisted that his plan for the heart institute is long term since he intends to remain there the rest of his career which he expects would span no less than 25 years.
After completing his medical studies at the University of Guyana he studied in Jamaica, Canada and the United States. Before coming to Guyana he was offered a faculty position at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica, but decided to turn it down to render his service to CHI instead.
“To be honest, it was a good and great opportunity to go and be a part of UWI but when the opportunity to come home came up it was very hard to say no….regardless of what challenges I saw a head of me there was also the potential for great rewards mentally and the satisfaction of doing something that makes a difference.”
“It is a special feeling to be able to do it at home,” said Dr Carpen who was forced to leave behind in Boston, his two-year-old daughter, and wife who is 18 months shy of completing her studies in Internal Medicine.