title: Taking cardiac surgery to the people.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently the leading cause of mortality in the world, and it is estimated that 80% of the disease burden is encountered in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While numerous wake-up calls have been issued in the recent years to face this emerging epidemic, little has been achieved. One particularly deficient area is cardiac surgery. This article aims to address the challenges and barriers to establishing cardiac surgery programs in LMICs and some of the existing efforts to overcome them, focusing on a center in Aswan, Egypt, as an example.
authors.affiliation: Harefield Heart Science Centre, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK, m.yacoub@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Magdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: ElGuindy
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afifi
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D004534:Egypt; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D013903:Thoracic Surgery / Q000706:statistics & numerical data