A specialized cardiac medical examination
29 Sep 2022 .
A specialized cardiac medical examination was conducted yesterday for the students of Salt Secondary School. This was made possible thanks to the remarkable efforts and generous initiative of the Jordanian Cardiac Society, involving the participation of fellow cardiologists and consultants in Jordan from Al-Balqa University, the Royal Medical Services, the Ministry of Health, the private sector, and fourth and sixth-year medical students from Al-Balqa University. This initiative was facilitated by the Jordanian Cardiac Society, which deserves our gratitude. I extend my thanks to all the colleagues who took the initiative and participated in this beautiful collective volunteer work at my alma mater, Salt Secondary School, where I was a student decades ago.
Tools used: A health questionnaire distributed to the students, ECG, mobile cardiac examination devices like echocardiography, and clinical examination. The goal was to survey the heart health of students in the class.
This initiative was the first of its kind for cardiac examination of students in Jordan. Everyone issued a statement, and the final results were published as follows, with the main points being:
a. We learned a lot from this humanitarian, social, and professional work by interacting with students and teachers who truly deserve admiration.
b. The experience was enjoyable, great, and organized.
c. The number of students at the school was 480.
d. We divided the tasks, including educational and awareness lessons for the students, questions and answers, prizes for the winners, and creating a pleasant atmosphere and trust among everyone. We shared roles with love and brotherhood, representing different sectors, notably the Royal Medical Services, whose presence was distinguished and honorable, and the fourth and sixth-year medical students who were exceptional.
e. The students were aware and cooperative, completing the questionnaire fully.
f. About 3% of the students refused the examination for various reasons; some were under follow-up for certain conditions at centers and did not want to disclose, while others had undergone heart surgeries, and we respected their privacy.
g. After analyzing all the questionnaires and examination results, we found 22 medical cases distributed as follows:
1. Two cases of congenital aortic valve malformation (Bicuspid Aortic Valve)
2. Two cases of mitral valve prolapse with regurgitation (MVP with regurgitation)
3. One case of mitral valve prolapse without regurgitation (Just MVP)
4. Four cases of high blood pressure
5. One case of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) due to neglected hypertension
6. Seven cases of benign tachycardia needing SVT treatment
7. One case of typical epilepsy
8. Four cases of asthma
9. A smoking rate of 40% among the students, which was mentioned quietly
A future periodic program was proposed to include all schools gradually, with the clinic potentially being divided if financial support for equipment and colleagues is available, forming groups to expedite the process, i.e., two or three groups with their equipment, each working in a different area.
Below is an image of the health questionnaire distributed to the students of Salt Secondary School for Boys, with personal information concealed. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gauge the extent and prevalence of heart diseases among the students.
