Chinese doctor highlights prevalence of heart disease in Dominica

Dr Dexi Wu (3rd from left) with Chinese medical colleagues

A doctor on the Chinese medical team which is assisting in Dominica’s health sector, Dr. Dexi Wu, has highlighted the high prevalence of heart disease in the population of Dominica.

“The population of Dominica isn’t large, but the proportion of heart diseases in the whole population is high,” he said in a statement. “That is related to the unhealthy life style such as too much sugar or fat in diet, lack of exercise, no annual check-up and so on.”

According to him, heart disease usually progresses slowly.

“We need to find the cardiac disease early and intervene as soon as possible to decrease the mortality and severe complications,” Dr. Wu said.

He said with his experience in cardiology, particularly electrocardiography and echocardiography, he will share “my understanding and operation skills” with the local doctor of internal medicine.

 “We can diagnose and intervene the heart disease earlier,” he explained. “That would be [to the benefit of Dominicans.”

He explained that severe cases of heart disease can lead to a high number of deaths.

“I have worked in cardiac intensive care unit in China for several years, so I also attend the rescuing of critical and urgent cases in Princess Margaret Hospital. And we have many successful cases,” Dr. Wu stated.

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31 Comments

  1. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    August 13, 2019

    To those who are giving me thumbs down, I challenge you all collectively, or individually to contradict anything I wrote with your knowledge of the heart; please attached your name to your comment.

    All you know where it pertains to heart disease; is well poor diet, and fat and stress cause heart diseases, that is crap!

    Cigaret can damage it too.

    Heart diseases is not more prevalent in Dominica than any other place on the planet.

    The problem is the lack of trained professionals to treat these simply illnesses.

    I was born with a heart condition, I first experienced it when I was about five years old; in my late 60’s a black American doctor went into my heart, performed a special type of surgery and cure the diseases. 

    Naked; no visible incisions!

    Meanwhile people who went to kindergarten  School  in Wesley with me has long died from an oversize heart.

    Poor diet, cholesterol and stress as far as I know does not cause oversize heart.

    • Joseph John
      August 14, 2019

      Stress, burn out, diabetes, old age, high blood pressure, cholesterol, two much fat, sugar, salt, smoking, vaping, alcohol and ganga are the main suspect, including lack of activity and lack of exercise . Self care including exercise help to prevent it.

      • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
        August 16, 2019

        John, stop talking nonsense; a person can make themselves appear to be a fool if they are not careful with what they say.
        Let us take i.e. old age; my grandmother by mother lived for a hundred (103) three years old, as far as I know she had diabetes, which is a progressive disease.
        She smoke a pipe filled tobacco more than once per day; she drank alcohol, she eat the same staples as all Dominicans; she died with a perfect heart!
        Some people beat their gum about cholesterol, and don’t know a thing about it. Her is a brief:
        Cholesterol,  a very important dietary lipid, has received little attention primarily because it is not used as an energy fuel, it serves instead as a basis of bile salts, steroid hormones, and vitamin D and as a major component of plasma membranes.

        Approximately fifteen percent of blood cholesterol comes from the diet, while 85% is made from acetyl CoA by the liver.

        Not enough space; will continue!

      • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
        August 16, 2019

        I am not here to teach human anatomy and physiology; nevertheless; I feel uncomfortable reading as much nonsense form people who are not knowledgeably of what they are talking about.
        True cholesterol kill; but how and which type kills, and why?
        So, let me cut it short and introduce you to lipoproteins, and cholesterol transport: In general the higher the percentage of lipid in the lipoprotein the lower its density; and the greater the proportion of protein, the its density. On this basis become familiar with: (HDLs, VLDLs LDLs, LDL, HDL.) Everything in parenthesis is a form of cholesterol.
         In Dominica lies takes precedence over the truth,In Dominica doctors treat not know what the they are treating; I consider that malpractice quackery!

    • Joseph John
      August 14, 2019

      Oh yes pollution and heat stroke are also contributors to heart disease . When you freeze to death is because your heart stop working.
      It is becoming very difficult to stay alive these days. Life expectancy is getting shorter with shooting, accidents, fire and all kinds of weather related disasters. If you get to 80 consider yourself blest.
      Then you have drug companies helping with medical mal practice. Poor me, with all that human hatred and wickedness being stimulated I don’t stand a chance of making three scores and ten.

  2. Observer
    August 13, 2019

    I am in agreement with the cardiologist. Based on the documented names of patients who suffer from heart disease we indeed have a problem and we Dominicans have to change our diet .We love too much fast foods , sugar and most of all fail to exercise. Some of the comments made is a lack of knowledge and total ignorance. Maybe political as well.

    And for your information the doctors have seen and assessed many patients since they have arrived in Dominica.

  3. Staying In My Lane
    August 13, 2019

    A nutritionally unbalanced diet loaded with carbs, processed sugar, sodium, hormone injected foods, saturated fats and void of vegetables and fiber will inevitably serve to compromise the health of any population regardless of location.

    The overall health of our people began to decline once the first slave ship left West Africa, leading to a gradual abandonment of a natural diet and traditional herbal medicines.

    Mind you, there is a case that can be made for affordable non-traditional health care diagnosis, maintenance and prevention to help address our current state of dis-ease.

    In short, if you take care of your car (your body) as prescribed then fewer visits to the mechanic (doctor) will be required.

  4. KaliNeg
    August 13, 2019

    :?: Do people on that island trust going to these Chinese for medical attention :?: Alas, poor-pity on these naive people!!!

  5. Ibo france
    August 13, 2019

    Let’s face the stark reality here in Dominica. Too many local families can ill-afford to provide daily nutritious meals for the members of their households. They therefore resort to consuming the cheapest cholesterol laden, salty and sugary foods. As a consequence they become afflicted with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity and other diseases related to bad dietary practices. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Dominicans would be real foolish to reward bad performance by giving this government, by the worst people, another term in office. Dominicans are presently experiencing the poorest quality of life in the Caribbean with the exception of Haiti. I challenge anyone to deny these facts: poor healthcare, poor infrastructure, poor wages & salaries, poor leadership, poor justice system, poor sporting facilities, poor network of roads, poor housing, poor employment opportunities, poor policing. The Skerrit-DLP led government has been a COLOSSAL FAILURE. OUT!!!

    • On Solid Ground
      August 13, 2019

      ibo france, your multiple postings indicate that you see the our country in an empty glass state. I, on the other hand, see our current predicament as a glass half-full.

      Your opinions are always well written, passionate and mostly reasonable when you resist the urge to interject politics in non-political discussions.

      Granted, our political leaders may not have always made the best decisions regarding the direction and well being of our nation; however, the multiple challenges that beset our nation and other under-developed countries must be considered when appraising the effectiveness of our political leaders whose expected level of influence and effectiveness is marginal at best.

      Though we have a very long way to go in reaching a comfortable standard of living as a nation, I am not as pessimistic as you on our progress. Please resist the temptation to throw the baby out with the bath water.

  6. Annomyous
    August 13, 2019

    Where’s the statistics to support this statement?

    • BMB
      August 14, 2019

      The ‘Doctor’ for you to ask about statistics you not asking him?

  7. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    August 13, 2019

    Continuation may not be sequential:
    Disorders of The Heart: The heart is subjected to a variety of disorders, among them are congenital heart defects which begin or exist  at the time of birth. Now when people are born with a disease we term that hereditary, meaning it runs in family’s though it may skip generations. Disorders of this nature may interfere with the flow of the blood from the heart to the lungs. Tetralogy of fallot and patient ductus arteriosus  are examples of congenital heart defects. Rheumatic heart disease may be associated with rheumatic fever. Other disorders of the heart includes angina pectoris, which is caused by coronary insufficiency; myocardial infraction, which results from formation of a blood clot in a coronary artery, and heart failure: Note Cardiac arrhythmias are disturbances in the normal rate and rhythm of the heartbeat. In men the normal rate is 63 beats per minuet, in women it is 72 per min. There are many different types of heart diseases.

  8. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    August 13, 2019

    Based on the preconceived none scientific research and finding of one who has never done any medical study and research in Dominica where it pertains to heart disease, the gullible has already convince that this man is an authority on heart disease within the population of Dominica.
    One such person agrees with the nonsense he spoke by thanking him for the obvious!
    What is the obvious?

    Another agree that overweight is the cause.

    Another said Dominicans prefer bush medicine; all total garbage; when people are uneducated and does not know better, they believe any crap they hear especially if they heard the nonsense from a none Dominican, so with that said let me write something educational about heart disease, and if one of the China man wish to counter me and prove Western medical science is wrong he is free to do so!

    Disorders of The Heart: The heart is subjected to a variety of disorders, among them are congenital heart defects which begins at the time of birth.

  9. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    August 12, 2019

    ” Dexi Wu, has highlighted the high prevalence of heart disease in the population of Dominica.”

    Here is my question, how can a man; just arrived on the island in less than a month, perhaps have not yet seen a patient, has not done any actual heart disease research on the island come to such stupid and ridiculous conclusion?

    So, what we have here, this so called doctor have already conceived in his mind that every patient who visits with him must have heart diseases.

    And that is the position Roosevelt Skerrit and his team of incompetent clowns of political puppets  put our people into.

    As I said earlier, there will be plenty of bad diagnosis, bogus prognosis, malpractice will be the order of the day the definition of prevalence is: the quality or state of being prevalent or the degree to which something is prevalent; especially: the percentage of a population that is affected with a particular disease at a given time!

    So you see the crap people?

    That’s quackery,…

    • August 13, 2019

      “Here is my question, how can a man; just arrived on the island in less than a month, perhaps have not yet seen a patient, has not done any actual heart disease research on the island come to such stupid and ridiculous conclusion?”

      Perhaps by reading reports from other physicians, or reviewing hospital records or government statistics? It’s not like this is a state secret.

      • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
        August 14, 2019

        Steve, you don’t expect me or anybody to believe such theory; the fact is 90% of the so called doctors operating in Dominica are Cuban trained.
        They are nothing more than a bunch of incompetent  quacks! Two Cuban born quacks came to Dominica, they were getting  ready to cut one of our citizens open, claiming the man have cancer.

        Lucky thing the Dominican knew a Dominica medical doctor here in the US.
        So, he consulted with him who advised him to come and visit and get a second opinion.

        Good thing he did that; because that second opinion saved his life, the man did not have any cancer; what the Cuban quacks saw on an X-Ray were dark traits of living for a long time with untreated hyperglycemia; infarct diabetes mellitus!

        These Cubans; most of them are simply decorated nurses, with medical knowledge lower than a Nurse Practitioner, or a Physician Assistant in the developed world.

        They don’t do research, and produce records on anything!

        • Joseph John
          August 14, 2019

          Cubans, I thought these doctors were from China. Thanks for the heads up.

          • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
            August 16, 2019

            John, if that is a response to my comments regarding the Cuban doctors, please read me over, perhaps you will come to the understanding I simply spoke about Cuban trained doctors as an example.
            Now let me say; I know two Cuban trained doctors who know their business in medicine.

            Say I say Griffin Benjamin, and Jonathan Prevost  are two very competent doctors.

            After spending almost a hundred thousand dollars here for orthopedic treatment for an issue, which a doctor told me was wrong with my lower back, when I went to visit with Jonathan in Dominica who told me I had no such issues after he did an X-ray and interpreted it, I return to Los Angeles, and visited a doctor, showed him Jonathan X-ray, he told me Jonathan diagnosis is 100% correct, and I should sue the American orthopedist.

             Griffin never treated me, however, he treated my late father at the PM Hospital, thanks to him my father came out alive!

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  10. Blank
    August 12, 2019

    This is probably why you always hearing a story about someone found hard in their house

  11. dee
    August 12, 2019

    they eating too much fig and pig .
    WU say to start eating dog and millay karkar from Roseau river instead . Zor kay bonne tan,

  12. Maybe
    August 12, 2019

    These doctors looking more sick than I dont know they dont look real

  13. Marilyn
    August 12, 2019

    The are aware of their hear disease, but they prefer the bush medicine then the medication prescribe for them, which is not helping.

  14. RandyX
    August 12, 2019

    Thank you for stating the obvious…

  15. Not surprised
    August 12, 2019

    Stress and poor diets.

  16. derp
    August 12, 2019

    no surprise there the majority are overweight….

    • Joseph John
      August 12, 2019

      Thanks Doc and team. It is well documented that diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attack is on the increase world wide. The main cause is a lack of proper nutrition and exercise (being active).
      Salt and sugar has been chemicalized so they become slow poison. Also all the imported food we eat is polluted and the meat/fish is petrified in frozen storage. We should only consume local organic foods.

      • Just asking
        August 13, 2019

        Ya you seem to drink the cool aid without asking. Not taking political sides I thing the hospital is a thing long overdue. However knowing that the Chinese are smart, and, being presented with a pic of seemingly youthful early 20’s doctors, might this just be strictly internship and this statement a pretext for selling Chinese heart medication? Don’t you question anything, and then contribute to the conversation? You started ok but you quickly becoming as boring as Francisco.

        • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
          August 13, 2019

          Guy, whoever you are, just shut up, and don’t mention my name in you ignorance okay!

          Boring as you think I am, all of my comments are intellectual, I   been to medical school, though I dropped out prior to graduating.

          However, I can manly boast of two BS degrees in Electronic and Electrical  Engineering; along with an AS in Electrons, along with an AA in the Liberal  Arts, so if I am boring to you it is because you are beneath me academically; okay! 

          Again: Note; my academics came from hard days, and nights of work in college and university; when your likes was strong out on drugs and alcohol, I was educating my in college and university.

          So, know your place!

          If you read me and my comments are above your intelligence just keep your mouth shout, and you opinions to yourself no one will know you are ignorant, of what I wrote.

        • Joseph John
          August 14, 2019

          Thanks for the heads up. I always wondered why my kids fake yawning when I am talking. The thing is this conversation is not about me.

        • Joseph John
          August 14, 2019

          I just realize that when I read postings that are above my education level it
          gets boring for me. But I am sure a high level intelligent big brain like you who don’t even know your name will never be boring. I know you are more exiting than a dead fish and you are the center of attention in any gathering with your brilliance. You are so brave that you have to post with a fake name. You are no ghost writing coward.

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