Cuba's cardiac rehabilitation program deemed a success

Cuba's community-oriented cardiac rehabilitation program, aimed at the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery of patients, including children suffering from congenital cardiopathies, was labeled as successful by an expert in Havana. Doctor in Medical Science Eduardo Rivas Estany, who heads the Cuban Cardiology Society, said that cardiology services are available in all Cuban provinces, with modern technology and specialized medical treatment, which is considered as advanced as those being offered in developed nations. This reality allowed taking the deaths from heart conditions to a second place after cancer by the end of 2012. Heart diseases prevailed the first cause of death over the past fifty years. Also, Cuba's pediatric cardiology network has helped lower infant mortality, whose rate in 2012 was reported at 4.6 in every one thousand inhabitants, the lowest indicator in the Americas, the doctor said