MHER SOUSANI: "IT IS EASIER TO HAVE A REPUTATION, BUT HARDER AND MORE IMPORTANT TO KEEP THAT REPUTATION"
Noyan Tapan
03.11.2009
YEREVAN: The Euro Caucasian Congress of Cardiology was held in Yerevan
on October 29-30 under the initiative of the RA Ministry of Diaspora
and the "France-Armenia Health Action" organization with support from
the RA Ministry of Health and under patronage of RA Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan. Participating in the congress were over 100 experts
from different countries.
In their interviews with hayernaysor.am, a number of prominent
cardiologists expressed their opinions regarding the level of
cardiology in Armenia, cardiovascular diseases and their prevention, as
well as the cooperation between doctors from Armenia and the Diaspora.
As president of the "Euro Caucasian Congress of Cardiology", French
cardiologist Pol Barragan stated, the death rate has gone up due to
cancers, while the death rate from cardiovascular diseases has gone
down. Barragan said that he considered it necessary to eat fruits,
vegetables, lower the level of cholesterol and quit smoking in order
to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
According to the French cardiologist, Armenian cardiologists are as
professional as French cardiologists. He also said that many Armenian
cardiologists have undergone training thanks to the "France-Armenia
Health Action" organization.
President of the "France-Armenia Health Action" organization Avetis
Matikian added that "Pol Barragan has trained all cardiologists from
Armenia and the congress could be considered Barragan’s meeting with
his students".
The "France-Armenia Health Action" was founded in 1993. According to
the president of the organization, the most notable activity has been
the training of cardiologists at the international level.
"This was why all cardiologists of the "Nork-Marash" center of Hrair
Hovakimyan and Mher Sousani came to France, were trained by Pol
Barragan and raised the level of cardiology in Armenia to a point
where other cardiologists from foreign countries, even Africa, are
coming to Armenia," he said.
In an interview with "Hayernaysor.am", correspondent of the Academy of
Medical Sciences of Russia, head of the department of X-ray methods
of investigation and treatment of cardiovascular diseases at the
Academy’s scientific center for cardiovascular surgery named after A.
Bakulev, president of the Russia-based scientific association of
interventional radiologists and endovascular surgeons, professor Bagrat
Alekyan said that he has graduated from the Yerevan Medical Institute
in 1974 and has been working at the center for cardiovascular surgery
in Moscow since 1975.
"I have been involved in interventional cardiology for the past 35
years. We conduct research and operations on our patients."
According to him, there are no official relations between Armenian
doctors in Russia, but almost all Armenian doctors know one another.
"For years, there was the thought of creating an organization that
would be able to contribute to the establishment of official relations,
but that did not become a reality because Moscow is a mega polis and
it is hard to organize that," he said.
Alekyan said that Russian and Armenian doctors are in good relations
and mentioned that he is able to come to Armenia 2-3 times a year
and participate in different conferences and symposiums.
Alekyan finds that the "Nork-Marash" center established by prominent
cardiologist Hrair Hovakimyan and considered to be the medical center
in the region, has played a huge role for the Armenian nation. Before,
Armenian patients used to travel to Moscow and Leningrad for
treatment. However, since the early 90s, H. Hovakimyan’s center has
taken on the responsibility of providing treatment for thousands
of patients.
"H. Hovakimyan helped established a school that continues to save
the lives of Armenians and that is very important," he said.
Alekyan attached importance to the development of interventional
cardiology which, according to him, has turned into a rather serious
alternative to surgeries.
"There are already 2-3 centers for interventional cardiology in Armenia
and it seems to me that there should be further development," Bagrat
Alekyan said.
According to Alekyan, the death rate due to cardiovascular diseases
in Russia is the same as the rate in Armenia (the death rate due to
cardiovascular diseases is 53-54% in Armenia) and that is a general
trend in the post-Soviet countries.
According to the expert, people should not think that they are
powerless in the fight against cardiovascular diseases. It is very
important to prepare specialists and find measures to develop the
field. The Russia-based Armenian doctor praises the cooperation
with Armenia. He says that there are 6 young aspirants and students
continuing their clinical studies at his department and there are
a total of 50 aspirants and students involved in clinical studies
from Armenia.
Syrian Armenian heart surgeon at the "Nork-Marash" medical center in
Yerevan, Mher Sousani, has been a student of Hrair Hovakimyan and is
currently one of his partners. He mentioned that the "Nork-Marash"
center helped established contacts with French cardiologists and
those contacts turned into friendly ties thanks to president of the
"France-Armenia Health Action" organization, Avetis Matikian.
According to Sousani, Hrair Hovakimyan’s gifts are his knowledge,
his service for patients and creation of a collegial system at the
hospital. Patients are mainly from Russia, Georgia, Abkhazia and
Syria. In some sense, it is unusual to see patients from Egypt. One
time, while the plane from Egypt was flying over the territory of
Armenia, one of the members of the plane crew had a heart problem. The
plane landed in Armenia, instead of Turkey or Georgia.
"That was a rare case, but a sense of pride for Armenians,"
cardiologist Mher Sousani said, emphasizing: "It is easier to have
a reputation, but harder and more important to keep that reputation."