A cardiologist, Professor Olakunle Akinboboye, says Africans are disproportionately affected by heart failure and urged for research in Nigeria to provide the best possible care for this ailment.
Akinboboye, the medical director of Laurelton Heart Specialist in New York, gave the charge in the 2024 distinguished alumni lecture of the Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association (ICOMAA) Worldwide entitled “Drug Management of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: The Method to the Madness and The Madness in the Method” in Ibadan.
Professor Akinboboye said it is important to make sure that lifesaving treatments are made available to prolong the lives of individuals with heart failure because the condition is deadly and once the heart fails, the individual can die within a few years.
According to him, diseases can differ depending on the location; thus, researchers must also explore for environmentally friendly medicines to help people with heart failure live longer.
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“I would strongly advise that people with heart failure should work with their cardiologist to get access to the best available treatments. Unfortunately, I was made aware that many patients with heart failure are still being treated with old drugs that are not as beneficial as the new ones.
“Heart failure is a very complex condition, and it needs to be managed by very competent people. People should take advantage of cardiologists.”
Professor Akinboboye stressed the importance of adherence to treatment considering that even with the best treatment, about 5% of patients with heart failure die every year in the United States from this condition that actually makes the quality of life poor because their heart is not pumping efficiently.
ICOMAA President, Professor Emmanuel Otolorin, said electricity supply to the college of medicine and the university college hospital is a problem, saying total dependence on the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for power supply is a big mistake.
“The organisation lacks transparency in its billing system and has failed to recognise that healthcare delivery cannot be equated to for-profit industrialization. Putting the UCH in the Band A fee sector is a disaster for healthcare delivery. Therefore, the COMUI and UCH need to urgently find an alternative power supply solution.”
Provost of the College of Medicine, Professor Temidayo Ogundiran, represented by the dean of clinical sciences, Professor Taiwo Lawal, said the ICOMAA distinguished alumni lecture was to inspire medical students to excel in medicine and to sow back into their alma mata.
Professor Ogundiran said the limitation of funding, especially to the health and educational sector, is really challenging in the life of the institution and urged for increased support for the college to ensure it retains its ranking as the best medical school in Nigeria.
