JAMESFETT
04-26-2005, 08:25 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sophie Nassif
Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, Pittsburgh Office, http://www.info@hashaiti.org
Phone: (412) 361-4884
Email: sophie@hashaiti.org
Area Physician Offers Source of Hope for Haitian Women
Despite challenges, humanitarian author and MD devotes life to rare heart disease
PITTSBURGH, PA — April 25, 2005 – For the past five years, Dr. Jim Fett has been on the advancing edge of researching a devastating heart disease of pregnancy, called peripartum cardiomyopathy. He continues to collaborate with researchers across the world and visits Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti (HAS) frequently to serve the neglected rural population in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley.
Dr. Fett’s first visit to the Haitian hospital in 1984 followed a decade of medical work in Africa and set a new course for his life. His dedication to underdeveloped countries has evolved and today he is focused on the Pierre Paulette Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Project (PPCM), a mysterious and severe form of heart failure in young women immediately after pregnancy.
“When I first started this study in 2000, three pregnant women with heart failure arrived the week I was there,” said Dr. Jim Fett, who, after retiring from the United States Public Health Service/Indian Health Service, now devotes all of his medical work to the issue of PPCM wherever in the world it appears. “We are making progress in diagnostic and treatment measures however. Over the past five years, HAS diagnosed 20 to 23 new in-district PPCM patients each year, the highest incidence of PPCM in the world.”
Dr. Fett continues his work with PPCM mothers today and just released a new book, “In the Shadow of Tyranny: A Search for Healing and Hope.” The proceeds benefit the PPCM project. During his most recent trip, he and Dr. Len Christie, cardiologist from Oregon Health Services University, saw more than 60 PPCM patients with heart failure; most were among the more than 140 women enrolled in the PPCM registry at HAS.
Dr. Fett has built a systematic team approach to tracking, examining, and testing heart failure patients. It appears that at some stage of the disease, PPCM patients experience an irregularly distributed and very focal inflammatory process (called “lymphocytic myocarditis” or “inflammatory cardiomyopathy”) in the heart muscle. This may be caused by a viral infection, but that remains to be proved.
“The project does what it can with the limited funds available. It’s critical to the survival and recovery of PPCM mothers in Haiti and elsewhere that we persevere and continue our research,” said Jim Fett, MD. “Every patient needs regular check-ups, timely medication adjustment, and periodic re-evaluation. Some of what we have learned in Haiti is only now beginning to be applied to the study of PPCM in the USA.” Drs. Fett and Christie reported some of these findings at the annual session of the American Heart Association in New Orleans in November, 2004.
Research shows that the incidence in Haiti is 10 to 15 times that in the U.S. Although PPCM is quite rare in most of the world, the just-completed five-year PPCM study in the HAS district has shown that Haiti has the highest incidence of PPCM in the world, with one case for every 300 births. In the U.S. over 50 % of PPCM mothers usually recover in the first year; but in Haiti, only 20 % recover fully, and healing takes much longer. Moreover, the mortality rate in Haiti is around 19 %, while in the USA it is around 5 %.
“We are thrilled and fortunate to have Dr. Fett’s significant contributions to the hospital,” said Dr. Venkita Suresh, the hospital’s chief executive officer and diréctéur general. “His achievements and solid commitment to PPCM provides us with inspiration to continue our focus in serving the Haitian people.”
About Dr. Fett’s Book
In the Shadow of Tyranny: A Search for Healing and Hope, written by James D. Fett, MD. A $5 royalty fee for each copy sold goes to Pierre Paulette Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Project at HAS. To order, visit Orders@Xlibris.com.
About Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti
Dr. William Larimer and Gwen Mellon founded Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti in the early 1950’s after Dr. Mellon received a Doctorate in Medicine from Tulane University. The Mellons quickly recognized that medicine alone could only make a modest impact in the underlying Haitian dilemma, and that to cure people and return them to the same environment that fostered the disease was only treating the symptoms. They created a community development program and focused their attention on sanitation projects, education and agriculture.
The hospital now serves as a model for health care organizations in developing countries, and continues to provide health care and community health and development for the 610-square mile district in central Haiti. The hospital is located in rural Deschapelles, about three hours north of Port-au-Prince. The largely Haitian staff includes over 900 employees and 2,000 community-based workers. For more information about Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, please visit www.hashaiti.org.
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Contact: Sophie Nassif
Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, Pittsburgh Office, http://www.info@hashaiti.org
Phone: (412) 361-4884
Email: sophie@hashaiti.org
Area Physician Offers Source of Hope for Haitian Women
Despite challenges, humanitarian author and MD devotes life to rare heart disease
PITTSBURGH, PA — April 25, 2005 – For the past five years, Dr. Jim Fett has been on the advancing edge of researching a devastating heart disease of pregnancy, called peripartum cardiomyopathy. He continues to collaborate with researchers across the world and visits Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti (HAS) frequently to serve the neglected rural population in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley.
Dr. Fett’s first visit to the Haitian hospital in 1984 followed a decade of medical work in Africa and set a new course for his life. His dedication to underdeveloped countries has evolved and today he is focused on the Pierre Paulette Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Project (PPCM), a mysterious and severe form of heart failure in young women immediately after pregnancy.
“When I first started this study in 2000, three pregnant women with heart failure arrived the week I was there,” said Dr. Jim Fett, who, after retiring from the United States Public Health Service/Indian Health Service, now devotes all of his medical work to the issue of PPCM wherever in the world it appears. “We are making progress in diagnostic and treatment measures however. Over the past five years, HAS diagnosed 20 to 23 new in-district PPCM patients each year, the highest incidence of PPCM in the world.”
Dr. Fett continues his work with PPCM mothers today and just released a new book, “In the Shadow of Tyranny: A Search for Healing and Hope.” The proceeds benefit the PPCM project. During his most recent trip, he and Dr. Len Christie, cardiologist from Oregon Health Services University, saw more than 60 PPCM patients with heart failure; most were among the more than 140 women enrolled in the PPCM registry at HAS.
Dr. Fett has built a systematic team approach to tracking, examining, and testing heart failure patients. It appears that at some stage of the disease, PPCM patients experience an irregularly distributed and very focal inflammatory process (called “lymphocytic myocarditis” or “inflammatory cardiomyopathy”) in the heart muscle. This may be caused by a viral infection, but that remains to be proved.
“The project does what it can with the limited funds available. It’s critical to the survival and recovery of PPCM mothers in Haiti and elsewhere that we persevere and continue our research,” said Jim Fett, MD. “Every patient needs regular check-ups, timely medication adjustment, and periodic re-evaluation. Some of what we have learned in Haiti is only now beginning to be applied to the study of PPCM in the USA.” Drs. Fett and Christie reported some of these findings at the annual session of the American Heart Association in New Orleans in November, 2004.
Research shows that the incidence in Haiti is 10 to 15 times that in the U.S. Although PPCM is quite rare in most of the world, the just-completed five-year PPCM study in the HAS district has shown that Haiti has the highest incidence of PPCM in the world, with one case for every 300 births. In the U.S. over 50 % of PPCM mothers usually recover in the first year; but in Haiti, only 20 % recover fully, and healing takes much longer. Moreover, the mortality rate in Haiti is around 19 %, while in the USA it is around 5 %.
“We are thrilled and fortunate to have Dr. Fett’s significant contributions to the hospital,” said Dr. Venkita Suresh, the hospital’s chief executive officer and diréctéur general. “His achievements and solid commitment to PPCM provides us with inspiration to continue our focus in serving the Haitian people.”
About Dr. Fett’s Book
In the Shadow of Tyranny: A Search for Healing and Hope, written by James D. Fett, MD. A $5 royalty fee for each copy sold goes to Pierre Paulette Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Project at HAS. To order, visit Orders@Xlibris.com.
About Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti
Dr. William Larimer and Gwen Mellon founded Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti in the early 1950’s after Dr. Mellon received a Doctorate in Medicine from Tulane University. The Mellons quickly recognized that medicine alone could only make a modest impact in the underlying Haitian dilemma, and that to cure people and return them to the same environment that fostered the disease was only treating the symptoms. They created a community development program and focused their attention on sanitation projects, education and agriculture.
The hospital now serves as a model for health care organizations in developing countries, and continues to provide health care and community health and development for the 610-square mile district in central Haiti. The hospital is located in rural Deschapelles, about three hours north of Port-au-Prince. The largely Haitian staff includes over 900 employees and 2,000 community-based workers. For more information about Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, please visit www.hashaiti.org.
# # #