Pacemakers for the poor are recycled for Africa
the US to these African countries.
“Significantly we have recently been given an export licence from the US Food and Drug Administration to support our work.”
In his day job as a physician and consultant cardiologist in Wales, Dr Yousef has implanted more than 5,000 pacemakers into patients.
Artificial pacemakers were invented in the 1950s which work through “pacing leads” – insulated wires with electrodes at the end which are threaded through veins into the heart chambers.
They are fitted under local anaesthetic and sedation – a procedure usually lasting just one or two hours.
But the cost of each operation is still a major hurdle for third-world countries. In the UK it costs between £5,000 and £50,000 a time to undergo the procedure, depending on the complexity required.
Dr Yousef said he remains very enthusiastic about his NHS and private work in Wales but is still keen to expand his work into Ethiopia and Eritrea.
He added: “It is an extremely rewarding role. I honestly can’t think of any other job that could be better.
“Heart failure is a chronic condition, so many patients have been suf- fering for several years and consequently when they eventually receive treatment that improves their quality of life.
“They are very grateful and this makes the job particularly rewarding.”
Dr Yousef said he is involved in the care of a range of patients with heart muscle diseases – from elite athletes to patients with inherited cardiomyopathies and rare metabolic diseases with cardiac complications.
He added: “Some have complications from cancer therapies and some patients have severely damaged hearts, who are being workedup for cardiac transplants or mechanical assist devices and implantable devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators.”
On top of his routine heart muscle disease work, Zaheer Yousef is a member of the Football Association’s cardiac consensus panel, honorary cardiologist to Cardiff City Football Club and provides advice to Swansea City and various local rugby clubs.
As part of this, in response to a number of high-profile tragic cases in sport, Nuffield Health Cardiff & Vale Hospitals provides cardiovascular screening to Cardiff City FC.
This type of screening is recog- nised as a means of identifying individuals at potential high risk of developing cardiac death during competitive sport.
Dr Yousef, who played rugby and squash for Guys Hospital, in London, where he trained to become a medic, added: “My work with the FA and the clubs provides a fantastic opportuni- ty to mix professional activities with my hobbies.
“I just wish that Cardiff City would score more goals and I sincerely hope that they make it for the playoffs this season.”
If you would like to support the recycled pacemaker cause, please go to www.pace4life.org