Cuban Children with Heart Disease Victims of U.S. Blockade

Havana, Oct 16 (Prensa Latina) The Cuban health system, which provides free health care to the island’s eleven million inhabitants, lacks or has to pay much more for supplies to care for the island’s children who suffer from heart disease.

This is one of the most criminal faces of the US blockade against its small southern neighbor for almost 60 years.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel describes this policy as genocidal and in his most recent record seeks to extinguish the largest of the Antilles by cutting off energy supplies.

Because of this practice, it is difficult for children’s cardiocenters here to have access to medications such as Prostaglandina, which can save the lives of children in need of surgical procedures.

This was stated to the Cuban News Agency by the head of the Cardiology service of the hospital ‘Ignacio Agramonte’ in the central province of Camagüey.

Although the drug is available to provide urgent treatment to newborns with critical heart disease, the imposition of the cruel policy increases its purchase price, because it must be bought through a third country, when it could be obtained at a lower cost in the northern nation, said the specialist.

He noted that something similar happens with something similar that happens with last generation antiarrhythmics. These cannot be acquired and it is necessary to use another medicine without achieving in some cases the expected results.

He also pointed out the punishment of the U.S. blockade, the lack in his hospital of equipment to perform echocardiography and the diagnostic exam with the Holter display to monitor the electrocardiograph on an outpatient basis for a period of 24 hours.

(Taken from PL in Spanish)

Written by Radio Grito de Baire