Aspetar, HMC Sign Partnership Agreement to Establish Joint Clinical Specialist Fellowship in Sports Cardiology Program

Doha, March 13 (QNA) - Hamad Medical Corporation's (HMC) Heart Hospital (HH) and Aspetar Qatar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital have signed an agreement to establish an Aspetar-HMC Clinical Specialist Fellowship in Sports Cardiology program. This program is aimed at developing future medical expertise in Sports Cardiology to benefit patients and athletes in Qatar and the region. Sports Cardiology is an important and rapidly evolving subspecialty in Cardiology that involves the cardiovascular care of athletes and active individuals. The growing number of competitive athletes and highly active individuals in Qatar has led to an increase in the need for Sports Cardiology expertise. While cardiologists are trained to recognize and treat common cardiovascular conditions such as coronary artery disease and heart rhythm disorders, sports cardiologists have a deeper understanding of how important activity is to an athletes physical and emotional well-being and the issues that affect their health, for instance how certain medications or diagnoses may affect performance. Aspetar Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, said that Aspetars Sports Cardiology program has been going from strength to strength: "We have extensive experience in the field of Sports Cardiology. Our joint Fellowship program with HMC aims to develop a comprehensive range of sports cardiology clinical skills, which is only possible through being exposed to a variety of athletes from different sporting codes, disciplines, ages, levels of participation, gender, and ethnicity. Our partnership with HMC is another step in our joint efforts to promote excellence in this exciting clinical field." The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Director of Medical Education at HMC Dr. Abdullatif Al-Khal said that the Fellowship program provides exciting opportunities for young cardiologists to pursue a career in Sports Cardiology: "As an internationally accredited teaching organization, we place great emphasis on the development of high-quality medical education programs that will develop highly qualified and competent physicians to provide excellent clinical care and engage in associated research. This partnership agreement with Aspetar will provide a new avenue for those cardiology specialists who are interested in this burgeoning medical field." Dr. Nidal Asaad, the Heart Hospital Medical Director, explained that this partnership will see the strengths from both organizations brought together to benefit patients, athletes and clinicians alike: "The Heart Hospital is an excellent facility that has a strong cardiology faculty who are experienced in training highly qualified cardiologists. By collaborating with the longstanding Sports Cardiology Fellowship Program, we benefit from their experience in Sports Cardiology as well as having valuable access to Aspetars state-of-the-art facility and equipment. Together we can provide a unique opportunity for future Clinical Specialist Fellows in Sports Cardiology to gain further clinical experience." (QNA)