ABOUT LHF
GALLERYIES
Heading into completion of the building construction, scheduled 2006 ending, the president, Ladakh Heart Foundation (LHF) Ven’ble T.Chogyal and Prof. Sampath Kumar, senior cardio-thoracic surgeon, All India Institute of medical science (AIIMS), New Delhi were fortunate in getting an appointment with His holiness the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India. Prof.Sampath briefed about the far sighted objectives of LHF to his holiness and presented a CD of himself and his colleague performing cardiac surgery at Leh. He sum up with the heart surgeries carried out at Leh on the poor Ladakhi during the past three years and also about the aims of caring out major heart surgeries at Leh itself once the complete infrastructure is available at LHF hospital complex. His Holiness expressed his willingness to motivate possible donors and immediately request his secretary to start correspondence to this effect is earnest, Very soon we received blessings from His Holiness in the form of a letter of recommendation to philanthropist around the globe to support LHF along with Rs. 20,00,000/-(twenty lakh rupee) as donation from HH The Dalai Lama’s trust. The motivation was so effective that within a short period we received $1,00,000/-from Mrs. Fusako Okawa, Japan as donation for which we gratefully acknowledge with deep appreciation.
September 1st to 15th is the Ladakh festival time, when people from all walks of life gather to present their cultural programme. To make this occasion more productive, Ladakh Volunteer Network (LVN) came forward to organized an exhibition in Leh, with our awareness drive motive about the NGO’s activity and their objectives. On that occasion we invited Chairman of LAHDC, and the DC of Ladakh and other well-known person. They went through the posters one by one and asking question and after all that, chairman of LAHDC and DC gave a little speech on our work, and they were very impressed and appreciated a lot and said to keep it up. The chairman of LAHDC wrote a little note in our suggestion book (I am highly impressed by the hard work LHF is putting up in fighting with heart diseases in Ladakh) and also Mr. Manoj Dwivedi DC/CEO recorded. (I am impressed, keep it up).
We have been continuing and extending our activities all over Ladakh, trying to prevent and cure all forms of heart disease, while also concerning ourselves with the general health of the local population, Our efforts can be broken down into four main areas-
-Primary preventative medicine, mainly in the form of lectures and seminars
-Village clinics in out-lying regions
-The maintenance of a register of all patients in the region, and the continued monitoring of their conditions
-Surgery and diagnostic clinics
Dr. Norboo continues to run his popular lectures on relevant subjects (such as hypertension, heart attack, tobacco cessation, diet, etc.) to the local communities and schools.
UPDATED DATA OF RHEUMATIC AND CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE REVEALED
Rheumatic heart disease to be 145 and congenital heart disease to be 101.
Due to health education, numbers of patients suffering from rheumatic heart disease have been reduced. Only one new case of acute rheumatic fever has been reported this year.
Exit programme. As department of health has accepted the programme of primary prevention and has taken over distribution of Benzathine penicillin, syringes and distilled water for primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever and secondary prophylaxis of rheumatic heart disease. We are extremely pleased by the outcome of this project and the acceptance of the programme by the government. To avoid duplicacy we decided to make our exit from this programme, while continuing to keep vigil on this programme.
January 26,2006
A memorable day, when one of the vice president of LIP and an important member of LHF Dr. Tsering Lhadol, the Gynecologist’s name appeared in the distinguished groups list of the president of India (Govt. of India) of national awarded for the highest order for their distinguished service to the society. She was awarded with Padma Shri, one of the most prestigious award of the country: whole Ladakh including the members of our society rejoiced over the news and congratulated her for the honour conferred on her by the president of India.
If you would like to sponsor any individual part of the operation of the foundation, such as a Village Clinics, the Hospital requirements or the Rheumatic Heart Disease injections, please contact Lama Chogyal at the Foundation.
June 23; 2006
Lecture on Prevention of disabilities in Ladakh
Venue: CMO’s office, Leh
Participants:
- Pharmacists of khalse block NIRLAC & district health services had jointly organized a programme “Basic training in management of disabilities for health workers” pharmacists around twenty from khalse block were the participants. Dr T. Norboo of LIP & LHF was asked to speak on prevention of disabilities on this day from 2 – 4 pm.
Started with definition of developmental disabilities.
As usual, we start such programmes in the community with realization that it become successful only when we start with programmes which the community feels important & therefore NIRLAC perhaps very rightly started with data collection and management of disabilities. Prevention as usual took a backburner.
People are not concerned with disability problems unless some one they love become disabled. These families are then the leaders of such initiation & the disabled are the real force. (NIRLAC is no exception; is the best example) next group of concerned people should be the health workers of all level who has to tackle these problems in his/her practice. Physically challenged is a better description then disabled.
What is important is to critically analyze the NIRLAC data as to which of the disabilities are the commonest; what age group? Which sex? Which region? & What is so different in the distribution of disability problem in Ladakh compared to other districts of India? Such analysis can give us vital clue about the predominant causes and naturally help plan preventive measures so that our future generations are not afflicted with disability problems.
Socio-economic conditions has big role to play in prevalence of disability problems: poverty, illiteracy, undernutriton, lack of sanitation, lack of basic health and rehabilitation programmes; examples – premature babies- lack or trained ANM’s to conduct proper delivery-prolonged obstructed labours – lack of immunization – accounting for increased prevalence of cerebral palsy – post-polio – paralysis lack or iodine in water supply leading to cretinism, mentally retarded babies etc.
Therefore multipronged health and environment and rural and urban development are very crucial to prevent disability problems.
Immunization particularly pulse polio programmes are crucial in prevention of disability: Proper storing of vaccines – transport of vaccines & ensuring 100% coverage & AVOIDING INJECTIONS are very important issues that health care workers need to keep in mind. It has been reported that 2million cases of paralysis due to Poliomyelitis are caused by giving injections to these patients during this illness.
Avoid medicine during pregnancy – avoid X-ray radiation during pregnancy – points which need awareness in all; health care workers in particular.
Rural Ladakh needs special attention to improve their nutritional status. Protective food available through fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, are not available throughout the year in places like Changthang, Zanskar etc. deep green, deep yellow vegetables & meat rich sources of vitamin A should be made available if blindness as one of the disability is to be prevented.
Skeletal & dental fluorosis (Chushul, Man Merak, area) iodine deficiency disorders in Nubra regions needs attention to prevent skeletal, dental & mental retardation disabilities.
Unorganized small industrial units like Saw machines – automobile – cement & flour factories etc. needs utmost safety measures to prevent disabilities causing for example Amputation of limbs etc.
Planning to prevent automobile; road accidents are urgently needed to prevent preventable disabilities.
Adulterated alcohol sale; adulterated edible oil sale; use of pesticides, insecticides in farms etc needs special attention to prevent disabilities like vision lose etc.
Awareness about Ear, nose and throat care is important to avoid preventable deafness. Pharmacist should know that inappropriate unnecessary injection of Aminoglycosids like Streptomycin, Gentamycin etc can cause deafness.
Preventative Intervention:
Before the establishment of the Ladakh Heart Foundation in 1997, there was a high prevalence of Acquired Rheumatic Fever in Ladakh. The reason for this is that during the extremely cold winter months (which can drop to below 30), local families spend most of their time together in the traditional kitchen. This close proximity to each other exposes young children to cross infection with streptococcal throat infections, which may develop into Acquired Rheumatic Fever, and possibly Rheumatic Heart Disease with severe consequences later in life.
In response to this problem the Ladakh Heart Foundation, in association with the Lions Club Leh and the District Health Services, initiated the “primary prevention of ARF” scheme. This entails any child aged between five and fifteen with possible streptococcal throat infection, receiving a single shot of Benzathene Penicillin after a proper sensitivity test, so that the infection doesn’t develop into ARF. Thanks to this scheme the instance of Acquired Rheumatic Fever, Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease has dropped since 1997.
Leh world anti-smoking day:
On May 31st 1998 the Ladakh Heart Foundation in collaboration with the Ladakh Health Department organized an anti smoking march. Children from local private and government schools marched in procession through Leh, carrying banners warning people of the dangers involved in smoking and asking them to give up. The procession began from Lah Chowk Leh and was flagged off by the Deputy Commissioner of Leh, Mr R.K. Goyal. The Deputy Commissioner himself also appealed to people to stop smoking as it is one of the major causes of heart disease and cancer. The event was reported on in the Daily Excelsior newspaper the next day.
Extending health care to some of the more remote villages:
The LHF runs a series of medical camps when they travel to some of the more remote villages of Ladakh, with local doctors and sometimes foreign volunteer doctors. On these camps, the Foundation carries out general health checks such as measuring blood pressure as well more specific health checks such as ECG readings and monitoring people’s breathing capacities. The doctors working in association with the Heart Foundation are able to diagnose many new cases of heart disease on these camps. Another purpose of the medical camps is to educate local people about the symptoms and possible preventative measures associated with heart disease. The Ladakh Heart Foundation doctors also give talks teaching the locals about the risks associated with poor diet, obesity, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption and the effects such habits may have on their cardiovascular system. These medical camps provide a very important service by taking health care and education to villagers and nomads who would otherwise have very limited health facilities, if any. Thanks to the time and effort put in by local doctors, foreign doctors and other members of the Heart Foundation, a total 20 medical and educational camps have taken place in the past years. As a result of all these camps over 2000 people have been examined. The Heart Foundation at present has 66 registered cases of Congenital Heart Disease, 14 cases of Acquired Rheumatic Fever patients, 14 cases of Coronary Heart Disease and 108 cases of Rheumatic Heart Disease; the Heart Foundation keeps detailed case histories of all these patients. As a result of it’s medical camps the Heart Foundation is able to run checks on its current patients, and to diagnoses new cases of heart disease thus helping local people further.
Details of the medical camps running between October 1997 and July 2000
Visit from AIIMS doctor from New Delhi:
In August 1998 the Ladakh Heart Foundation invited Dr Sampath Kumar, a senior cardio-thoracic surgeon from AIIMS, New Delhi. At this time the LHF had 85 rheumatic heart disease patients, each patient with a detailed case history for periodic check up, referral management, financial and rehabilitation purposes. Dr Sampath Kumar examined all these patients, here in Leh so they didn’t have to travel to Delhi, and advised appropriate management. He strongly recommended the Foundation aquifer a state of the art Colour Doppler Imaging system to facilitate the diagnostic capability of local physicians. This would be a big step forward for the Heart Foundation, as the local diagnosis of our patients would curtail the costs of visits to Delhi for initial diagnosis and subsequent follow ups if required. Following this advice the Heart Foundation is currently trying to get hold of such a machine.
Plans for the future:
The costs for cardio-thoracic surgery are prohibitively expensive for the majority of the Heart Foundation’s patients. The cost of surgery required to treat rheumatic heart disease ranges from Rs. 91,500 for one valve to Rs. 142,000 for two valve surgery. Congenital heart disease is also in high prevalence in Ladakh. The average cost of surgery to treat Congenital Heart Disease is Rs. 45,000. These prices are exclusive of costly travel expenses and accommodation charges for the patient and attendant in Delhi. When possible the LHF is committed to help raise money for it’s poorer patients so that they can afford the surgery they require. In 1998 the Foundation was able to donate Rs. 85,000 each to two very poor Rheumatic Heart Disease patients in need of two valve surgery, to contribute to the cost of their treatment. Some of this money was acquired from the donations of local people through “16 Friends”, a Ladakhi organisation which the Heart Foundation had spoken to in order to get them to persuade local people to donate money to help these patients. Another welfare organisation based in Leh, the Otzer Tsogspa Skyanos Gogsum Association, organised a concert, the proceeds of which, over Rs. 40,000, were donated to the LHF so that these patients may be helped. The Heart Foundation tries to contribute to the surgery of other patients, the amount they receive depends on their condition and their financial situation. The Ladakh Heart Foundation is currently raising money to build it’s own diagnostic centre in Leh, land for this project has been kindly donated to us by the J&K government and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council. The centre is to have a diagnostic wing, an operating theatre and a conference hall which will be used for preventative health seminars and training of local health workers which is an essential part of the Foundation’s work. This centre will allow patients not requiring open heart surgery (such as Congenital Heart Disease patients), to be operated on in Leh, thus curtailing their costs greatly. More invasive surgery, such as that required for people suffering from Rheumatic Heart Disease, will still have to be carried out in Delhi as the procedure requires a lot of sophisticated equipment which the Heart Foundation does not have. However as a result of the Foundations scheme to prevent acquired rheumatic fever by giving children shots of Penicillin, the instance of rheumatic heart disease and subsequently the number of patients requiring treatment for this condition are falling. Once the diagnostic centre is built, cardio-thoracic surgeons from AIIMS in New Delhi have pledged to visit the Heart Foundation for one week every year to operate on patients in Leh voluntarily.
The Ladakh Heart Foundation was founded in 1997 by Ven Thubstan Chogyal. He was ordained in 1977 at the age of seven. Chogyal studied at Drebung Loseling College in South India and spent seven years at the Tantric College of HH the Dalai Lama at Namgyal Monastery. After three years in South Korea, where he learnt Korean, he spent seven months studying English in Oxford. Now he has decided to dedicate his life to finding solutions to the problems facing his people.
