DR EDWIN TULLOCH-REID Director of clinical services and consultant interventional cardiologist, Heart Institute of the Caribbean

What is your idea of a perfect weekend in Kingston?

I think it would be a weekend trip to the Blue Mountains overlooking the city: great climate, tranquillity, and nature in abundance. It is quickly accessible: the perfect place to disconnect. I’ve been fortunate to have explored some places off the beaten track through my cousin’s company, Sunventure Tours, and Birdlife Jamaica.

What do you do to stay in good health?

I try to watch my diet; I’m not always successful, but I’ve over the last few months made a deliberate effort to eat more fruit and vegetables and less unhealthy snack food and drink more water. I exercise quite a bit with personal training at Sandwest Fitness Studio, playing tennis twice a week and walking. I’m also learning to be more mindful of my body’s needs including finding more time for adequate rest. Fortunately, as a Seventh-day Adventist I keep Saturdays free from regular work and activity except for patient emergencies. Sabbath is a great time to reconnect spiritually with a community of believers and to make time for family and close friends.

What’s the most memorable meal that you’ve had in Kingston?

Lunch at Strawberry Hill. Great food, quick service and an exquisite view of Kingston and the surrounding Blue Mountains.

Heart health has recently become a conversation that more people are having. What steps can busy professionals take to improve cardiovascular health?

Stop smoking if one does; increase physical activity, once approved by one’s physician, if one exercises infrequently. As much as possible, stick to a healthy diet rich in fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains and complex carbohydrates, and maintain an ideal body weight. Stress reduction is also important, being part of a faith community and building healthy supportive relationships. Additionally, one should check for coronary heart disease risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol with one’s health-care provider. One should also get unusual symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, easy fatigueability checked out with a cardiologist/cardiovascular disease specialist. Increasingly now sleep issues-including not getting adequate sleep, not paying attention to sleep hygiene (the quality of the sleep environment, e.g. no TV or computer in the bedroom, no stressful activity or serious mental engagement before bedtime etc.) and sleep-disordered breathing are all linked to cardiovascular disease. Recommending lifestyle changes is something which lies close to my heart (no pun intended) and I try to do so both when I see patients at the Heart Institute and in my own consultative practice at the Andrew’s Memorial Hospital. One can never start too early in terms of looking after one’s heart health!

Tell us about the Heart Institute of the Caribbean’s Heart Hospital.

The HIC Heart Hospital opened early this year, building on the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC) as an ambulatory care centre which has been operating since March of 2005. Through the Heart Hospital, we now offer expanded services including admissions to our cardiac intensive care unit (the first in the island) and intermediate care unit, as well as admissions through our emergency room as a 24/7 service. We will also be shortly offering open heart surgery, which will be a highly significant accomplishment for a freestanding cardiovascular centre. This is part of the ‘natural progression’ towards being a comprehensive cardiac centre offering all the major modalities of cardiac care.

Can you share one of your most memorable patient recovery stories with our readers?

One of my most memorable patient recovery cases was that of the emergency admission of a gentleman in his early 50s to Heart Institute’s new cardiac intensive care unit after surviving a sudden cardiac arrest episode at a community event. After admission for continuous monitoring and stabilisation he had echocardiography done, underwent coronary angiography to check for ‘blockages’, and received treatment with medication for heart failure before a defibrillator was implanted. It was a great team effort demontrating what we were cabable of. He walked out of our hospital two weeks later and was back to living pretty much a normal life within three months of the episode.

What steps are the HIC taking to offer first-world and top-rate services locally?

We have just added new, highly trained staff, including two new top-flight world-class interventional cardiologists, Dr Roberto Baglini and Dr Ahmed Soliman Hegazy, as well as several skilled/experienced cardiovascular technologists supported by strong management led by our new COO Sergio González López. HIC has built a sizeable and well-respected team of physicians, technologists and health-care administrators. With our newly expanded team in place we have greatly enhanced our ability to offer emergency procedures such as primary angioplasty (opening of a blocked artery) for heart attack victims who walk in or are transported to the Heart Hospital. We are already seeing a great difference in our capicity to efficienctly offer a wider range of procedures to world-class standards on a 24/7 basis. As our CEO Professor Ernest Madu says, cardiology is a team sport. We quickly recognised that we could not fulfil our mandate of providing high quality affordable cardiac care without building a sizeable and well respected team of physicians, technologists and health-care administrators.

Do you prefer a night out or a night in?

Depends on my mood, and energy level. Generally, though, I like going out — musical concerts, good films and plays are at the top of my list. A delicious meal with family, close friends and colleagues, whether in a home or a nice restaurant, is also always welcome.

Where’s your preferred chill spot?

I guess, the Mona Bowl at UWI, Mona where I often relax a little after playing tennis early in the morning. It’s quiet, peaceful and serene at that time of the day.

Finally, what’s your personal credo?

I like this one attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “Live as to die tomorrow; learn as to live forever.”