PPC partners retail stores, pharmacies on regular heart checks, early detection of irregularities

PPC Healthcare has announced its intention to partner with retail stores and pharmacies in the country to encourage regular heart checks for early detection of irregularities that may prove fatal if undetected at an early stage.

The company, which is a subsidiary company of PPC Limited, a leading engineering and infrastructure development company made this known in a statement released on Monday September 13, 2022.

Studies have estimated that between 6 to 12 million people globally suffer from arrhythmia, a condition in which the heartbeat of affected persons becomes irregular and arrhythmic. This condition could lead to a medical emergency, especially when undetected, resulting in heart failure or stroke.

As the part of the collaboration, PPC’s channel partner will deploy a lightweight ambulatory cardiac monitoring device called Bittium Faros, for short-term and long-term cardiac monitoring.

Bittium Faros is a high-end medical technology that provides accurate measurement of the electrical activity of the heart from 12 hours up to 30 days, giving comprehensive data that can easily be interpreted by cardiologists.

Speaking on the strategic partnership, the Head of Sales-Medical Devices at PPC Limited, Bamidele Nse-Jacobs, explained that early action is important for the management of heart conditions.

She said: “We are excited to be partnering retail stores and pharmacies in the country as this will empower Nigerians to take charge of their heart health through regular checks. It has been discovered that many people die from cardiac arrest because they were unable to detect irregular heartbeats, heart-rate variability and other related symptoms early enough.

Nse-Jacobs also pointed out the barriers to early detection. She said: “The major barrier experienced by people with a high risk of cardiac abnormality has always been convenience and access to diagnostic equipment and that is why this partnership will bring the heart-monitoring equipment closer to Nigerians.

“This alliance is part of our commitment to saving lives, encouraging healthy living and shaping the future of healthcare service delivery in Nigeria.”

She added that cardiologists have found that the device easy to use, cost-effective and valuable for their practice, complementing in-hospital patient management and medical research.

Nse-Jacobs stated that the strategic partnership is a patient-centred approach to healthcare delivery as it extends access to live-saving diagnosis, reduces duplication of testing, and helps achieve improved cardiac health.

PPC Healthcare has supplied, installed and maintained over 100 ultra-modern medical diagnostic and treatment equipment for private and government hospitals and has deployed medical devices that monitor the health of over four million Nigerians nationwide.