Lipid Lowering to Target national Campaign
The Vascular Medicine Program at AUBMC in collaboration with the Lebanese Syndicate for Medical Lab Owners (Syndicate Biologiste) and Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) launched a National Initiative that is in line with the international recommendations of various societies (ESC/EAS and AACE) to improve heart and vascular health. This initiative entailed that Medical Laboratories reports be modified to include the LDL-C treatment goal values according to risk for heart disease
Official Letter From Syndicate
Educational material has been prepared in collaboration with the Vascular Medicine program and will be distributed to patients in laboratories across the country:
This effort is to emphasize the need for lowering LDL and is anticipated to help improve adherence to lipid lowering medications. The adherence challenge is a global issue that also affects us at Lebanon. Lack of adherence has many causes one of which is wrong information (the effort described helps in this aspect), and has hazardous outcomes including stroke, myocardial infarction and death.
Lebanon is among the first countries in the world to adopt such an aggressive preventive approach. We want to promote such approaches in the region and look forward to helping others achieve similar results.
A plan has been developed and the 4 first steps are:
- 140 medical labs across the country will be changing the way they report LDL reference values (to be monitored by us and the syndicate to which they belong to; target for year 1 is 50 labs)
- Posters and educational leaflets (Arabic, English and French versions were developed) will be distributed in the 140 medical labs highlighting the originators of this initiative including AUB Vascular Medicine Program (see attachments in the zipped folder).
- A post- implementation survey will be conducted to evaluate this process in 6 weeks to permit revisiting areas of deficiencies
- A series of lectures explaining these changes will accompany the launching
This effort was led by Dr. H. Isma'eel from Cardiology in collaboration with Dr. Rose Daher from Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and was supported by Dr. G. Zaatari, Dr. I. Salti, and Dr. S. Alam, and embraced by Dr. R. Habib, Dr. F. Bitar and Dr. K. Badr.
This change will naturally produce some confusion and we therefore request your support to this initiative through highlighting LOWER LDL means LOWER Heart Attacks and Strokes.
Yaduna - Women's Heart Health Center
Women Heart Health Center (WHHC) is a project under Yaduna Foundation, a non-governmental (NGO) non-profit organization founded on May 17, 2012 (ministerial number 364), representing the initiative of The First Lady of Lebanon H.E. Mrs. Wafaa Sleiman to institutionalize and scale up her various social activities.
Yaduna Mission: To empower underprivileged Lebanese and Arab women and improve their living conditions by providing quality services, raising awareness and spreading best practices.
Members
Administrative Consulting Committee
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Atty. Fady Karam
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Mr. Imad Sadek
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Mrs. Zeina Jammal
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Ms. Ghada Akiki
Medical Consulting Committee
- Dr. Kamal Badr, MD
- Dr. Samir Alam
- Dr. Antoine Sarkis
- Dr. Charbel Sleiman
Administrative Staff
- Mrs. Zeina Jammal: Chief Executive Officer
- Ms. Ghada Akiki: Chief Operating Officer
- Ms. Rita Abi Fadel: Secretary
Paramedical Staff
- Mr. Paul Aoun: Laboratory technologist
- Ms. Diana El Helou: Social Worker
- Mrs. Maya Abou Mrad: Clinic Secretary
- Mrs. Violette Mouawad: Registered nurse
- Mrs. Patricia Jerdak: Radiologist technician
- Ms. Hana Arabi: Therapeutic Dietitian
Medical team
Coordinators
- Dr. Bernard Abi Saleh (AUBMC)
- Dr. Antoine Sarkis (USJ/FM)
Cardiologists
- Dr. Joe Abdo (USJ/FM)
- Dr. Bachir Allam (USJ/FM)
- Dr. Ziad Itani (AUBMC)
- Dr. Youssef Massaad (USJ/FM)
- Dr. Marwan Refaat (AUBMC)
Laboratory Physicians
- Dr. Moussa Ali (USJ/FM)
- Dr. Dolla Sarkis (USJ/FM)
Radiologists
- Dr. Noel Aoun (USJ/FM)
- Dr. Karem Gharzeddine (AUBMC)
- Dr. Sahar Semaan (AUBMC)
- Dr. Tarek Smayra (USJ/FM)
Research Committee
- Dr. Kamal Badr
- Dr. Nathalie Zgheib
- Mrs. Laila Al-Shaar
- Dr. Tony Abd El Massih
- Dr. Aline Hajj
- Atty. Fady Karam
- Dr. Antoine Sarkis
- Dr. Samir Alam
- Ms. Ghada Akiki