Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti said on Saturday it successfully carried out another open heart surgery last week.

A team of medical experts from ABUAD Multi System Hospital, in collaboration with some foreign partners, who made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti during a review of the teaching hospital’s Cardiac Mission, hinged the success of all cardiovascular surgical operations on the dexterity of the facility’s personnel and world class equipment.

The team of experts, led by United States-based cardiologists, Professors Tayo Adeleke, and Paul Davies, called on governments and well-meaning Nigerians to focus on the health sector to save lives, saying, “Life expectancy in Cuba is 81, that of USA is 80; so for Nigeria where life expectancy is less than 50 to get to that level, focus must be on health sector.”

Adeleke, who said high blood pressure had been identified as the chief cause of heart failure globally, urged Nigerians to always guard against it with regular routine medical checks, saying: “High blood pressure is a silent killer. It is the major cause of kidney failure, heart failure and sudden deaths among our population.”

ABUAD founder, Chief Afe Babalola, hinged the success of the surgeries performed in the 400-bed facility on investment in modern technology and assemblage of best hands in the profession.

Three persons including a medical doctor benefitted from the Cardiac Mission which was free of charge, which underwent two interventions to correct some heart conditions and an open heart surgery where a faulty valve of the heart of the patient was removed and successfully replaced, according to Babalola.

Two of the beneficiaries, Tayo Akomolafe, a surveyor; and Dr Bukola Balogun, expressed happiness over the free health services they enjoyed from ABUADTH.