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Ugandan cardiologist scoops top US award
Awarded. Dr Emmy Okello
What you need to know:
- Rheumatic heart disease is a complication of rheumatic fever in which the heart valves are damaged.
Kampala. A Ugandan doctor has been awarded a prestigious United States (US) award for his role in treatment of heart diseases.
Dr Emmy Okello, an interventional cardiologist at the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI), has been recognised by the American College of Cardiology for advancing the field of Rheumatic heart disease and interventional cardiology in Uganda.
This was announced by Dr John Omagino, the executive director of UHI on Friday.
At the institute, Dr Okello performs percutaneous mitral commissurotomy for patients with severe mitral stenosis.
Commissurotomy is an open-heart surgery that repairs a mitral valve that is narrowed from mitral valve stenosis.
Mitral stenosis is a narrowing of the mitral valve opening that blocks (obstructs) blood flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
His research on the burden, risk factors and outcome of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in Uganda showed that there is big burden of the disease in the country, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality.
According to authorities at UHI, Dr Okello’s works have improved the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever diagnosis and contributed to the reduction of morbidity and mortality associated with RHD, the long term consequence of rheumatic fever.
The American College of Cardiology is currently the highest level of recognition in the field of cardiology globally.
Dr Okello told Sunday Monitor that he was nominated by Prof Daniel Simon, a senior cardiologist in US, and seconded by several individual from Pan African Society of Cardiology, Dr Omagino and other colleagues from Kenya and US.
In Uganda, he was the only person nominated for the coveted award and majority came from South America and Asia. “This achievement opens other chances for training of doctors in advanced cardiology medicine, research and other advanced clinical care studies for our nation,” Dr Okello said. “I have been a cardiologist since 2013 but the award of a fellow of American College of Cardiology is really the highest level of recognition in the field of Cardiovascular medicine. We deserve this award because as UHI, we have innovated a lot in advancing care for children and young adult with rheumatic heart disease not only for open heart surgeries but also intervention in pinhole surgeries to open damaged and close heart valves,” he added
About RHD
Rheumatic heart disease is a complication of rheumatic fever in which the heart valves are damaged. Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that begins with strep throat. It can affect connective tissue throughout the body, especially in the heart, joints, brain and skin.
