German expert highlights heart issues at SSUET seminar

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The biomedical engineering department of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, (SSUET), organized a seminar on “Regulation of Pump Function: Our Heart under control of Hormones” at the campus in which guest speaker, an internationally recognized German physiologist and pharmacologist, Prof. Dr Joachim W Herzig delivered an informative and enlightening lecture.

Speaking on the occasion, Engr Mohammad Adil Usman, Chancellor SSUET, observed that people in Pakistan stood at higher risk of developing heart diseases and according to a survey, over one third of all deaths in Pakistan were caused by cardiovascular diseases as heart diseases accounted for around 35 to 40 per cent of the total disease burden in the country.

He expressed deep concern over the increasing rate of heart diseases in the country, particularly among the youth due to the lack of awareness. 

Chancellor Adil Usman also called for reducing the cost of treatment of heart diseases in Pakistan which was on higher side. 

 “It would be a great service to the nation if the efforts should be made at providing internationally recognized quality standards of cardiac care to the common man in the country with minimum cost,” he said. 

Addressing the seminar, the guest speaker Prof Dr Joachim Herzig stated that pump failure was a condition in which blood supply to vital organs was impaired which resulted in the reduced economy of the heart. 

“Heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped working. It means that heart's pumping power is less effective than normal. In heart failure, blood moves through the heart and body at a slower rate, and pressure in the heart increases. As a result, the heart cannot pump enough blood carrying oxygen and nutrients to meet the body's needs,” he explained. 

He also pointed out that the chambers of the heart may respond by stretching to carry more blood to pump through the body or by becoming more stiff and thickened. This helps to keep the blood moving for a while, but in time, the heart muscle walls may weaken and are unable to pump as strongly. As a result, the kidneys respond by causing the body to retain fluid (water) and sodium. A heart attack can damage the heart muscle, resulting in a scarred area that does not function properly. 

The visiting professor spoke in detail about the Renin–Angiotensin System (RAS) and the Frank–Starling Law of the heart. 

Earlier Chairman, Biomedical Engineering Department, Prof Dr M A Haleem, presented the progress report of the department. In the end Chancellor Adil Usman presented a SSUET souvenir bag to Prof Dr Joachim Herzig.