Funding for implanting defibrillators in Ukraine should be significantly increased
Kyiv, May 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine should significantly increase state funding for implanting cardioverter-defibrillators to prevent sudden cardiac death, Chief of the Heart Arrhythmia Department at the Strazhesko Cardiology Institute Oleh Sychov has said.
"A little more than 50 such devices are implanted in Ukraine every year. This is not enough... This is due to the fact that most of these devices are implanted at the expense of budget funds, but [these funds] are clearly insufficient. Until the state allocates funds for this, people will not be able to do that on their own, as the cost of a defibrillator is similar to the initial cost of a car. But it resolves the problem of patients," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
However, he added: "If we multiply by 200-300, this is the amount that should be in our country every year."
Chairman of the EHRA National Societies Committee Robert Hatala (Slovakia) said that about 600 defibrillators are implanted in Slovakia every year.
President of the Association of Cardiovascular Surgeons of Ukraine Volodymyr Kovalenko said that the Day of Preventing Sudden Cardiac Arrest was currently marked in Ukraine for the first time.
The Association of Cardiovascular Surgeons of Ukraine and the Association of Arrhythmia Surgeons of Ukraine called for the creation of a national register of acute cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, which will in future help have a more grounded approach to the introduction of technology to implant a defibrillator in the human body.
"When a person suddenly dies, there's an arrhythmia that causes death. This cardioverter starts working and returns a person to life," Kovalenko said.
He also added: "These methods are not new for us. But because of its financial inaccessibility, unfortunately, they are not used so often in our country."
According to cardiovascular and arrhythmia surgeons, this will help reduce the level of sudden cardiac death in Ukraine.
Sychov said that 50,000 Ukrainians suffer heart attacks every year and there is one case of sudden cardiac death per 1,000 people per year.