Non-invasive treatment is the way forward

THE future of medicine is now leaning towards non-invasive and minimal invasive technologies. With so many advanced technologies out there and the vast amount of information that is now readily available to medical professionals and patients alike, why should we still be stuckwith conventional medicine as our only option?

The change is happening now and patients are embracing it. When everything else in the universe is constantly changing and reinventing the way it functions, why shouldn’t medicine? Although a large group of patients are already focused on alternate and noninvasive medicine, there is still a need to keep abreast of new developments.

Medicine is ever-changing, but we are often unaware of these changes. It was not long ago that statins were the number one choice of drug to control cholesterol, in spite of their numerous side-effects including joint pain, anxiety, depression, diabetes, abnormal heartbeats, muscle degeneration and sudden cardiac death. In 2014 the US Food and Drug Administration, which originally passed the drug, sent out a warning about the adverse side-effects of statins, mandating that a warning must be printed on the box. This has yet to filter to South Africa.

Research done in the UK last year, involving 70 000 people, found that high cholesterol does not cause heart disease. According to Professor Sherif Sultan, from the University of Ireland, “lowering cholesterol with medication is a total waste of time”. Yet treating patients with statins is still a common occurrence in South Africa, impacting seriously on the health budget in state hospitals.

Our approach to treating patients has not changed much in decades, yet there are so many non-invasive technologies available out there. External counterpulsation, commonly referred to as a “natural heart bypass”, has been used successfully worldwide for more than 30 years.this is a noninvasive outpatient treatment for cardiovascular disease and has only recently become available in South Africa.

Our focus should be on early detection and prevention of disease. Why should one wait to have a heart attack when there are tools out there that can determine your cardiac status and risk at an early stage, so that preventative measures can be taken? The 3Dimensional Vasculography technology is a non-invasive diagnostic scan that is used for early detection and management of heart problems without radiation or dyes that may harm the kidneys.

While surgery may be necessary at times, it is still accompanied by several risks, which include: hospitalisation, infection, pain and suffering, failure to achieve the desired results and the possibility of death. Surgery is an important tool, but should be left as a last resort. It is with this in mind that forward-thinking scientists have developed modalities that achieve the desired goals accurately, cost effectively and without risk.

South Africa has been lagging behind the world with noninvasive medicine as the public and medical professionals have not been sufficiently exposed to it. We will be focusing our attention on these medical marvels of the world over the next few weeks.

Herald readers can look forward to being introduced to some of the latest technologies in non-invasive medicine which include cardiac diagnostics, cardiac treatments, tissue regeneration (cartilage) and degeneration (cancer), arterial angiogenesis (growing new arteries on the heart), genetic screening of genomes and phenotypes of all organs in the body using the virtual light scan technology, as well as treatments to remove heavy metals from the body that we are all exposed to. Learning about what’s out there will allow you, the patient, to make an informed decision. Remember, your body is your responsibility so ask questions, investigate, research, learn and know your options.