Health Minister gives tenth Health Care update, this one focused on heart and stroke treatments

Dr. Sean Connors, is the Clinical Chief of Cardiac Care, NL Health Services. He says this province leads the country in terms of people affected by heart and stroke disease with one in three contracting it.

Health Minister Tom Osborne says enhanced heart and stroke treatments are leading to better outcomes for patients. This includes the introduction of a surgical procedure known as EVT which removes stroke causing blood clots leading to a 50 percent reduction in hospital stay. Also, there has been an increased use of clot-busting drugs called thrombolytics for strokes, from 10 per cent in 2018 to almost 20 per cent, the national standard, in 2023. Osborne says the expanded use of virtual heart failure management means patients become stabilized on their medications through virtual appointments much sooner. Dr. Sean Connors, is the Clinical Chief of Cardiac Care, NL Health Services. He says this province leads the country in terms of people affected by heart and stroke disease with one in three contracting it. Minister Osborne also gave details on doctor and nurse hirings in this tenth Health Care Update. Forty six more physicians were licensed last year, which includes  11 family doctors and 35 specialists. More than 80 physicians have been recruited since last April and more than 450 registered nurses have signed on, with that number expected to increase with upcoming graduations.