KUWAIT: Head of the cardiology department at the Chest Hospital Dr Abdullah Al-Enezi said the hospital succeeded in treating 14 critical cases of Ventricular Tachycardia (V-tach) with the moxibustion program and support of “Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation” (VA ECMO), which is considered the first of its kind in Kuwait and GCC.

Al-Enezi said some heart patients suffer from critical ventricular Tachycardia, that threatens their lives, and are treated with the use of moxibustion technology by catheterization, yet some patients suffer from sever weakness in their heart muscle, and it is not possible to carry out the moxibustion process due to its high risk. He said, that for the treatment of such difficult cases, there was cooperation between heart physiology doctors Fawziya Al-Kandary and Dr Abdullah Jamaan, and catheterization doctors Khalid Al-Merri and Dr. Abdullah Al-Enezi, and that cooperation produced an integrated program to treat such cases.

Al-Enezi said 14 cases were treated during three years, saying the program relies on installing the VA ECMO by the catheterization doctors, then the moxibustion is done by physiology doctors, and the process is done without high risk because of the use of the VA ECMO system. He said the program contributes to reducing patients’ suffering through having an alternative to travelling abroad to receive treatment, in addition to reducing cost on the state budget.