Cases of Coronary Artery disease is growing like wildfire in PNG says Russell Lee, project coordinator with Open Heart International.
Lee introduced the Operation Open Heart program to the country in 1993 and has been visiting every year since.
He says during this early years, coronary heart disease was only the problem of the “white-men”.
But as PNG has grown and become more educated, lifestyle has included unhealthy food, smoke and stress, all these contribute to coronary artery disease.
This disease occurs when plaque builds up on the artery walls, narrowing coronary arteries passage and decreasing blood flow to the heart.
Lee said the problem in PNG was that more and more people are acquiring this disease but cannot afford to treat it.
The Open Heart International always dealt with heart diseases that people are born with.
But due to this dangerous trend, Lee said his team may over time, see this program deal with these other disease.