Cleveland Abu Dhabi diagnoses 100 patients with vascular weakness

Abu Dhabi (Etihad)

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 Group, celebrated nearly one year since the launch of its comprehensive surgical screening program for microvascular dysfunction and coronary artery spasm. Thanks to this program, the hospital’s Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute succeeded in diagnosing and treating about 100 patients with small blood vessel dysfunction. minutes and coronary artery spasms over the past year, highlighting the extent of the prevalence of this heart condition, which is often missed by accurate diagnosis.
This program is considered a remarkable development in the care of cardiovascular diseases in the UAE, as it provides complex diagnostic and treatment solutions for angina pectoris resulting from weak microcirculation and coronary artery spasm. This advanced screening process requires interventional cardiologists, specific medications, and equipment capable of detecting abnormalities in the coronary arteries and small arteries that are not visible to the human eye. This diagnostic technique uses wire technology to examine small arteries and involves injecting a special medication into the arteries of the heart to detect such a condition.
A 61-year-old patient named Marie Christine, who is from South Africa and currently resides in Abu Dhabi, benefited from this innovative program. Christine’s journey with angina began with seemingly minor symptoms, but they quickly worsened into chronic chest pain that severely affected her daily life. Christine recalled her suffering, saying: “Convulsions changed my life within one moment. The pain was severe and constant, and I was unable to walk or sleep, and I began to fear the risk of a heart attack. I remember one day I was walking in the mall and suddenly felt severe chest pain, which I thought was heartburn. “The pain subsided then, but it continued to occur frequently.”
After suffering from this pain for a long time and feeling uncomfortable for many months, and undergoing routine heart examinations without finding an exact cause for her pain, Christine was referred to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi for advanced, more accurate examinations. At the hospital, she underwent a surgical examination for microvascular disease and spasticity to evaluate her condition.
Regarding her condition, Dr. Ashraf Al-Azouni, a consultant in cardiovascular medicine at the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: “Christine’s symptoms were worrying, given her very active lifestyle. Our comprehensive examination revealed severe spasm in the epicardial coronary arteries, which confirmed the diagnosis and enabled us to design the appropriate treatment plan for her condition.”
Dr. Al-Azouni stressed that the diagnosis itself is the most difficult detail in this case, as it cannot be detected with the naked eye and requires specialized tools and precise techniques. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi developed this program as part of its comprehensive medical approach to make care for the most complex health conditions available to residents of the region and the world.
Dr. Ronnie Shantouf, a consultant in cardiovascular medicine at the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: “Our goal with this program is to enhance awareness and bridge the diagnostic gap in the field of heart disease care, and to provide accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment for people with these conditions, in an effort to improve the quality of heart disease. their lives”.