ABOUT LHF
GALLERYIES
The Ladakh Heart Foundation is a non-profit making, non political charitable trust. It was established in 1997 by Ven. Thupstan. Chogyal, a local monk. The organisation was started due to the high prevalence of cardio-vascular disease, acquired and congenital heart disease within the local community. These can be attributed to the altitude and harsh living conditions. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, who is the Patron of Ladakh Heart Foundation has very kindly donated (10,000 US dollar) which has been utilized in starting the construction work. We, at the Ladakh Heart Foundation fully realize the difficult conditions under which we have to work and intend to carry out the projects regardless of difficulties.
Lecture Programmes
The lectures are all given by Dr. Norboo, and are designed to educate Ladakh about the ten impending diseases of the new millennium. These are:As Ladakh rapidly develops and changes economically and culturally, it is vital that the population understands and can make steps to address these new issues- hypertension is exceptionally common due to the salty diet and local butter tea, and Ladakh has the lowest age of onset of stomach cancer in the world. The information is tailored for the cultural background in which it is to be received. Dr. Norboo and other members of the Foundation travel to the villages with the generator and projection equipment of the Ladakh Heart Foundation, where lectures are given in halls, schools, and even outdoor areas at night. The attendance, and attention, at lectures is always high, and the information is always very well received. Whenever possible, the lectures are also given before any clinics, so that diagnoses, blood pressure measurements, and lifestyle advice is better understood. The feedback and questions from villagers is always positive, and lectures often stimulate many more questions. Over the past year, around 6400 children, adults, teacher, and health professionals have heard these lectures. A list of campaigns can be found at the end of the newsletter.
International Seminars
In November 2002, Dr. Norboo and Lama Chogyal were invited by the Tokyo Woman Medical University to give a series of presentations upon aspects of high altitude disease, at the 3rd International Symposium on Chronobiology.
Village Clinics
Over the course of the past year, approximately 750 patients have been seen in village clinics, as part of the out-reach programme. We have been able to dispense free medicines for a very wide variety of ailments, and feel that a large impact can be made on each individual's quality of life, through schemes such as these. The clinics are always very popular.
Patient Register
The maintenance of the patient register is an on-going project. At present we are maintaining a database of 127 patients suffering from Rheumatic Heart Disease, which is important both for the monitoring of the condition of these individuals, and as a resource for research into the condition.
Fortunately, over the past year there have been only three new cases of rheumatic heart disease, and this is a reduction that we have tried to assist through the provision of free Penidure (Benzopenicillin) injections at hospitals, clinics and village centres for those with symptoms that are suggestive of a streptococcal throat infection. These injections were kindly donated by Casa del Tibet. Though this steady reduction in cases is welcome, we are aiming for a total eradication of new cases over the next few years, through continuing increased awareness, and the availability of suitable medicines.
We also maintain registers of patients with other conditions, monitoring 82 individuals with Congenital Heart Disease, 22 individuals with serious Arrhythmias, and 20 cases of Coronary Artery Disease.
We are also in the process of developing further registers, allowing us to help those with neurological problems, such as those that follow a stroke, as we feel that this is intrinsically linked with heart disease, and therefore the aims of the Foundation.
Construction Site
The construction site is progressing steadily. From merely foundations this time last year, we have added the whole of the ground floor, constructed a well 170m deep to provide a reliable and clean water supply, and now have a connection to electricity and telephone. The army also gave a loan of a bulldozer, allowing the leveling of the rest of the site, while the forest department has pledged to plant approximately 1000 trees around the hospital.
We hope to complete the shell of the building by the end of the summer season, in one and a half months time, but this is very much dependent upon the resources available to us. Nine volunteers from Singapore, including two nuns, came to assist in the building of the site, and also in the clinics, earlier this year.
