Aga Khan University Hospital Children Heart Hospital

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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
An agreement has been signed between the Aga Khan
University Hospitals (AKUH) Patient Behbud
Society (PBS) and the Pakistan Childrens Heart
Foundation (PCHF) to make quality healthcare
treatment available to children with congenital
heart disease. Through this partnership, PCHF
which works with children across Pakistan, will
identify children in need of this specialized
surgery and care and will help bear the cost of
treatment along with AKUHs PBS so that more
children from low income families can access this
life saving treatment. 
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
Former Pakistan cricket captain, Misbah-ul-Haq
who is an ambassador for congenital heart
disease, and cricket maestro Saeed Anwar were
present at the signing ceremony. I am very happy
that we are all joining hands together for this
cause that is so important, says
Misbah-ul-Haq. Through this partnership,
together we will do camps all over the country
and do research together and advocate for this
cause on a national level, says Dr. Babar, AKUH
Childrens Hospital Service Line Chief and
paediatric cardiologist. This is not a Western
disease, the disease burden is highest
in developing countries like ours. 
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
Director of Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation,
Farhan Ahmed says that this partnership will
bring live saving treatment at the best
healthcare facility in Pakistan to families
across the country. It is a matter of real
prestige for us for our work to be recognised by
AKUH. We want treatment of poor children to be
at a facility and be given the best care that
a child from an affluent family would get and
through this, we are making this possible. 
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
One of every 100 babies born has congenital heart
disease (CHD), and 60,000 babies in Pakistan are
born each year with CHD or what is commonly known
as having a hole in their heart. Of these, about
20,000 die within the first month if nothing is
done to treat them. CHD is one of the
most common of all birth defects. 75 of all CHD
problems can be corrected through surgery and
babies with heart defects can go on to become
adults living active, productive lives, yet if it
goes untreated, the survival rate of such babies
is low and if children with CHD are not treated,
they remain unwell, underdeveloped, and have to
make repeated hospital visits.
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
AKUH has has a dedicated unit for
congenital heart defects that includes pediatric
cardiac anesthetists, cardiologists, intensivist,
surgeons, cardiac per fusionists (who operate
the heart and lung machine during surgery) and
physiotherapists, as well as specially trained
nurses. Early CHD patients have very subtle
symptoms, such as irregular breathing patterns,
or immature growth, says Dr. Babar. Children
with these conditions might appear smaller than
others their age and not as strong. But because
of limited awareness and access to quality
healthcare facilities, many patients are not
diagnosed until they are older, making CHD
complicated to treat.
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
Each year, the congenital cardiac programme? team
at AKUH performs more than 400 paediatric
cardiac procedures. Seventy per cent of CHD
patients at the hospital come from families
without financial means to afford the cost of
outstanding surgical and medical care. After
the signing ceremony Misbah ul Haq visited the
paediatric wards, surprising and
delighting those children who are undergoing
treatment at AKUH.? 
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AKUHs Patient Behbud Society Signs Agreement
with Pakistan Childrens Heart Foundation
https//hospitals.aku.edu/pakistan/
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