CAIRO - Inherited muscle disease is considered the most common cause of sudden death in healthy young people. Around 300,000 people die suddenly from heart problems in the US alone, according to cardiologists. This topic was discussed at the second meeting of the Aswan Heart Centre (Science and Practice Series), held in Cairo last week under the title 'Inherited Heart Muscle Disease'. The meeting was chaired by Egypt's world-famous cardiologist Dr Magdi Yacoub, whom President Hosni Mubarak recently decorated with the Nile Collar, a prestigious honour. "This conference, organised by the Aswan Heart Centre, discussed something very serious – inherited heart muscle disease,” Dr Yacoub said at a press conference after the conference. Dr Eugene Braunwald, one of the most prominent cardiologists in the US, attended both the conference and the press conference, noting that this dangerous condition can be treated. “The treatment involves drugs, but it usually becomes more complicated than that,” said Dr Braunwald, adding that nowadays devices can be implanted in the heart to save patients' lives. “However, this form of treatment is not available to each patient because it's very expensive. Sometimes, the condition can be treated with surgery,” he stressed. According to Dr Yacoub, the conferences that started last year are called the Science and Practice Series, because science plays a vital role in the treatment of heart diseases. He explained that such conferences allowed the Aswan Centre to gather the world's most prominent cardiologists, in order to discuss the most recent studies and research into the treatment of heart diseases. Professor Yacoub added that the conference dealt with several studies on genetics, which contribute to our knowledge of what causes inherited heart diseases, while the Aswan Centre is helping to train junior Egyptian doctors. Meanwhile, several international universities, in collaboration with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, are doing research into the impact of genetics on the heart muscle, he commented. When asked whether heart muscle disease differs from place to place globally or between males and females, Dr Braunwald noted that gender does not seem to make a difference, as studies in different parts of the world show that males and females may both be afflicted with the same inherited diseases. “Thus inherited diseases that affect the hearts of the Egyptian patients are very similar to those suffered by their European counterparts. These diseases can strike at any time – in infancy, childhood or adulthood,” he added.
