Hearts of Legends

The Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC), in association with Vanderbilt University's Heart and Vascular Institute, recently hosted a conference under the theme, 'The Hearts of Legends: Extending the Heartbeat of Jamaica', at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

Ten professors from Vanderbilt met with Jamaican and regional experts and provided a critical overview of advances in cardiology. The conference looked into the future of cardiology against the backdrop of current cardiac care with particular applicability to the local environment and the non-specialty practice of medicine in all fields.

"Each physician presented on different topics relating to cardiovascular care. They gave knowledge that will help to improve Jamaica's health," said Tackier Saddler, human resource and administrative manager at the HIC.

The Hearts of Legends Cardiac Conference saw doctors, nurses and medical students participating. Doctors who attended all three days were eligible for 13 credits. Nurses could also obtain credits by attending the conference.

The HIC provides expert diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and general medical conditions and consultative opinion locally and also remotely via a network of specialists linked by a global telemedical network. These services were previously not available in Jamaica and the only option for patients in the region was to seek or procure such services in the USA, particularly in Florida.