Two hearts are better than one

What is the healthiest place in Kyiv?  At a recent reception at the residence, I began to suspect it might be my lounge.  The reason was that the room was crammed with over 80 guests representing the cream of the Ukrainian medical profession and, in particular, many of the country’s top interventional cardiologists.  Other medical experts with whom I chatted included trained first response specialists.  If anyone planned to fall ill, this was the place.

The occasion for the reception was an event organised for AstraZeneca, an international biopharmaceutical company with its HQ in London, to mark the creation of the Association of Interventional Cardiologists of Ukraine.  In the last 25 years, the number of people in Ukraine with heart disease increased three-fold, and the death rate for those diseases increased by 45%.  The aim of the new Association is to improve medical care for patients with a view to cutting these rates.

The UK is always keen to support initiatives and innovations in health care in Ukraine.  We hope the creation of the Association of Interventional Cardiologists will help contribute to medical and scientific development here.  And I hope I don’t need the services of any of the eminent men and women present at the reception any time soon.