| James Kon |
HEART disease is one of the most expensive health conditions which takes up a massive chunk of the government’s annual health expenditure for medical treatment.
This was stated by Jong Seng Khiong, Senior Occupational Therapist, who is also Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital, in an interview on the sidelines of the phase 3 outing activity of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme for heart patients held at the Bio-Innovation Corridor, Kampong Tungku, yesterday morning.
“Heart disease is one of the main causes of death in Brunei Darussalam after cancer, which tops the list of killer diseases, and diabetes, the third top killer. These three are non-communicable diseases and their causes reflect our lifestyle and the unhealthy way we eat,” he said.
The Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme, a concerted initiative by RIPAS Hospital’s Occupational Therapy Unit and Cardiology Unit established in 2004 at the RIPAS Hospital, aims to assist individuals with heart problems to recover as fully as possible and bring them back to the community.
Jong Seng Khiong, Senior Occupational Therapist at RIPAS Hospital. – JAMES KON
On cardio rehabilitation, he said, “It can help save lives. Studies have shown that patients who have participated in the cardiac rehabilitation programme are less likely to die from heart disease compared to patients who have never attended the programme,” he said.
“This programme provides information to heart patients concerning the risk factors and assists them to improve their risk factor profile and demonstrate to them that they can still engage in exercise after treatment.”
Over the past 10 years, around 1,000 patients have undergone bypass surgery while some 4,000 patients underwent ballooning and stenting procedures.
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