NEWS

Original Source: www.thepeninsulaqatar.com, 24th Pctober 2011

http://tinyurl.com/3nl92h4

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, yesterday inaugurated the Hamad bin Khalifa Imaging Center at the Aswan Heart Center in Egypt, founded by pioneering cardiovascular surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub. (AISHA AL MUSALLAM)

DOHA: H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser,  Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, formally opened yesterday the Hamad bin Khalifa Imaging Center at the Aswan Heart Center (AHC), founded by pioneer of cardiovascular surgery Sir Magdi Yacoub.

“There is no doubt that any medical or scientific achievement is born from research, and research is in turn un-achievable without an environment that encourages and embraces it,” said Sheikha Moza. “We consider the Aswan Heart Center a model for such environments especially in the Arab world, and consider it our duty to support it and invest in it.”

The state-of-the art Imaging Centre was contributed to the pro-bono hospital by Sheikha Moza to provide crucial Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) scanning before surgery, both improving diagnosis and patient outcomes. It also contributes to the research effort of the centre, dedicated to the benefit of Egypt and beyond.

The Aswan Heart Centre, founded by Sir Yacoub in 2009, offers high quality cardiovascular services and surgery to critical cases regardless of their ability to pay. It has provided life-saving care to more than 6,000 patients to date, most of them children. Sustained efforts are being made to enhance and increase the capacity of the Center.

The Center is in turn an important element of a strong and developing partnership between the Magdi Yacoub Research Network (MYRN) and Qatar Foundation, giving birth to Qatar Cardiovascular Research Center, a member of QF. The key aim of the collaboration is to reduce the growing global burden of cardiovascular disease, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, through a linked program of science and practice.

“Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are now the biggest single cause of mortality in the world,” said Sir Magdi Yacoub. “This day, and the cementing of our partnership with Qatar and Qatar Foundation, is an important step forward in a long road to service humanity, science and medicine in Egypt and beyond.”