Burjeel Hospital: Connecting emergency heart care in the region

Burjeel Hospital's dedicated team of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons strive to offer comprehensive care for your cardiac conditions.

Dr Shadi Idris, Consultant - Cardiac Electrophysiology/Cardiology

Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi is among the few hospitals that provides fully-facilitated electro-physiology unit, and Dr Shadi Idris, Consultant - Cardiac Electrophysiologist is among the specialists at the helm. Patients who have a strong family history of sudden cardiac death, coronary artery diseases and structural heart disease are at high risk of developing heart conditions and require routine screening.
"My role is to treat patients with heart rhythm diseases, including all types of fast heart beats, and slow heart beats. I treat patients with personal history of palpitations, syncope, and those who survived a cardiac arrest. I deal with implanting and managing pacemakers and defibrillators, as well as cautarising short circuits in the heart to treat fast heart rhythm. To date, Burjeel Hospital is among the first in the private sector to offer a fully-equipped laboratory and operating room dedicated to cardiac electrophysiology, thus making it a complete one-stop destination for cardiology needs. Patients can rest assured that they are subject to world-class treatments by internationally qualified professionals that have experience in challenging heart conditions.


Prof. Dr Walid Shaker, Consultant - HOD, Cardiac Surgery department

The heart serves as the engine of the body, which is why any disease affecting it will affect other organs, especially the lungs, liver and the kidneys.
"Heart failure leads to progressive organ failure, so do not neglect cardiac symptoms, hypertension disease and coronary heart disease. A cardiac check-up and screening strategy is very important for every patient, notably for males above the age of 40 and for females above the menopausal age, which includes checking blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar," says Prof. Dr Walid Shaker, Consultant - Head of Department, Cardiac Surgery Department, adding that early diagnosis can treat any possible heart disease and prevent a number of complications on other organs.
Patients visiting Burjeel Hospital can rest assured that they are in safe hands, as its cardiac surgery programme is renowned a centre of excellence in the UAE. The hospital performs surgery all kinds of heart surgery cases, including coronary bypass surgery, valve repair, replacement, minimally invasive heart surgery and the complex aortic root replacement surgery. In addition to this, we receive all kinds of cardiac emergencies from all over the country - from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and even the western regions, Al Ruwais and Al Dhafrah.
"We provide the most advanced techniques in cardiac surgery, including minimally invasive procedures and valve repair technique that gives very good results and low morbidity and mortality," said Prof. Dr Shaker.
He encourages patients to seek medical advice, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has demonstrated a high mortality rate among those affected with heart disease. At Burjeel Hospital, its staff take stringent efforts to maintain sterile environment to prevent Covid-19 transmission and infection, and ensures patients receive quality care.

Dr Georgie Thomas, Specialist Interventional Cardiologist

More people die from cardiovascular disease worldwide than from any other cause, says Dr Georgie Thomas, Specialist Interventional Cardiologist. According to the World Health Organisation over 18 million people die of cardiovascular disease every year. Out of these, 80 per cent is from heart disease (such as heart attacks) and the remaining from strokes and other vascular problems. While some risk factors such as family history obviously cannot be modified, but other factors like high blood pressure can be modified with treatment.
This includes physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, raised blood pressure, high cholesterol, tobacco use, obesity and diabetes. "From the practise that I have seen in the UAE, cardiovascular disease has a relatively early onset, compared to the traditional thinking that cardiovascular disease (CVD) does not affect younger individuals. Risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are rampant in individuals who are as young as 25 years old and in some rare cases even younger individuals. The highest risk group is the young 30 to 50 age group," Dr Thomas highlighted.
Simple solutions such as regular exercise, a 45-minute brisk walk daily and watchful diet can save patients the trouble of costly surgery and the anxiety involved in intervention.
For those looking treatments, Burjeel Hospital has a full range of tests accessible to all patients, with lab results processed on a daily basis. To add to this, it also offers nutritional advice by its dieticians, exercise therapy and a lot of support available in the form of educative materials. "I work in interventional cardiology which involves removing blocks from the blood vessels through angioplasty and stenting. We also work on structural defects in the heart such as repair of holes and repair of valvular leaks. The whole intention of preventive care is to prevent the patients from reaching a point where we have to remove blocks!" he adds.

Dr Magdi Mohamed, Consultant - Emergency Medicine

When it comes to cardiovascular diseases, we are aware of the common symptom; a crushing chest pain in the center of the chest radiating to arms, but there are atypical symptoms residents must look out for to be well prepared for emergencies, according to Dr Magdi Mohamed, Consultant - Emergency Medicine at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi.
"Acute myocardial infarction may present atypical symptoms including shortness of breath, dizziness, weakness, etc. This is notably common among women and the elderly, but tend to go unnoticed. In some cases, gastric pain is not always due to stomach problems, and could be due to myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack," he highlighted.
These cases, Dr Mohamed warns, are considered an emergency and requires immediate attention from a medical specialist. He adds that the symptoms of stroke also present themselves atypically, with subtle symptoms like transient weakness in limbs, disorientation, tingling, numbness of face or limbs. Cardiovascular diseases comprise of myocardial infarction, hypertension, stoke and other peripheral complications that affect the legs and upper limbs.
"Cardiovascular disease is a major health problem that causes around 20 million deaths per year. In the UAE, it is the leading cause of morbidity," he said.
Dr Mohamed says that the risk of cardiovascular diseases is present from the age of 20 and gradually increases with age, putting the elderly population at great risk. A routine check-up is highly recommended. Burjeel Hospital, one of the leading private hospitals in Abu Dhabi, has an emergency department that is well-prepared to receive all cardiovascular emergencies, supported by state-of-the-art cardiology department with specialists that cater to all types of heart-related conditions.

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