Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur unveils state-of-the-art Cardiac Center

KUALA LUMPUR, February 20, 2011 (Press-News.org) Despite the fact that heart or cardiovascular disease is preventable, it remains the number 1 killer in Malaysia for the past 30 years. According to recent reports by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 16% of deaths reported in 2008 are caused by this disease.

With that in mind, Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur today launched its new state-of-the-art Cardiac Center that will not only provide the latest treatments for all forms of heart disease in adults and children but will also educate the public on the risk factors of cardiovascular ailments and help prevent it before it happens.

Led by a team of highly specialized and experienced cardiologists, the new Cardiac Centre provides prevention, diagnostic, testing and treatment programs.

According to Chief Executive Officer of Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, Amir Firdaus Abdullah, the hospital continuously strives to provide unparalleled and holistic treatment approaches which will ultimately benefit patients with cardiac or cardiothoracic health problems.

"The center is a one-stop facility to diagnose and treat cardiovascular diseases by combining a diet and diabetic counseling center.

The hospital invested about RM65 million to ensure that the center is equipped with high-tech cardiac diagnostic and testing facilities that includes a catheterization laboratory, equipped with state-of-the-art X-ray and monitoring facilities," Amir said after the launch of the center by Deputy Minister of Health, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.(represented by Y.Bhg. Datin Dr Rugayah, Deputy Director, Medical Development Division)

Additionally, the center also has a 20-bedded Intensive Care Unit and a six-bedded High Dependency Unit to accommodate patients after major cardiac surgeries, or those requiring close monitoring such as acute coronary syndromes, and myocardial infarction.

There is also a 31-bedded adult ward and a 28-bedded pediatric ward to cater for adult and young patients who has other less serious cardiac conditions.

"Ensuring high standards of patient care is at the heart of everything we do and the Cardiac Center is representative of our dedication to our patient's well being."

In addition, the Cardiac Center will have an extensive Pediatric Cardiac Care facility that specializes in the entire spectrum of congenital cardiac anomalies from neonates to infants and newborns to adolescents.

Chairman of Pantai Holdings Berhad, Khairil Anuar Abdullah who was also present during the launch commended the latest initiative by Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, which is one of the two flagship hospitals under the group, alongside Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

"We have had excellent results in treating congenital cardiac anomalies. For the past 15 years, I am delighted to say that Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur has successfully treated more than 600 congenital heart disease cases through its corporate social responsibility program, A-Heart for A-Heart," said Khairil.

"The new Cardiac Centre will add to the vibrancy of Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, making it a valuable and accessible asset to the community.

Apart from delivering high standards of medical services, it is about providing improved care and Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur offers the best modalities of treatment for the patients, especially for the children who suffer from critical congenital defects."

"It is envisaged that the center will firmly establish Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur as one of the finest cardiac care provider in Malaysia and will subsequently complement proactive initiatives taken by the government to prevent and treat heart diseases," he added.

The newly Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospital also launched a Multi-Slice CT Scan during the same ceremony. It was unveiled by YAM Tengku Puteri Seri Lela Wangsa Pahang Tengku Tan Sri Hajjah Meriam binti Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Mustain Billah.

More information on this and all Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur's latest activities, log on to http://www.gleneagleskl.com.my

Note to Editors and Journalists:
This press release has been prepared for Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur by intelectasia
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Manminder Kaur Dhillon (Public Relations Consultant)
+6012 652 3868 manminder@intelectasia.com

About Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur
Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur (a JCI) accredited hospital is one Malaysia's premier private healthcare providers. It commenced operations on 1 August 1996 and was officiated by the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed on 16 December 1997.Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur comprises a 330-bed tertiary care hospital and a separate Medical Office Building (MOB) which accommodates consultants of various specialties and sub-specialties for outpatient services. In 2006, Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur was the proud recipient of the Technology Business Review Award for Holistic Patient Care and the Best Hospital Award at the Asia Spa Wellness Awards. In 2007, yet another milestone was achieved when Reader's Digest crowned Gleneagles Hospital as the Most Trusted Brand under the hospital category of the Trusted Brands Awards. The hospital also received Asian Hospital Management Award (Branding) in the same year. In 2009, it was awarded Branded Service Recognition Award and Health Industry Recognition Award. Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur has been officially accepted as an organizational member of International Standard on Quality (ISQua) in health care since May 2009. For more information about Gleneagles, please visit: http://www.gleneagleskl.com.my

About Pantai Holdings Berhad
Pantai Holdings Berhad (Pantai) is Malaysia's leading healthcare group with a network of eleven hospitals throughout Malaysia. Hospitals under the Pantai Hospitals brand are located strategically in Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Johor. Collectively, the Pantai Group of Hospitals has a total of more than 1,500 beds, with over 100,000 admissions a year. The Group is anchored by a pool of clinical professionals, consisting of more than 650 doctors and 1,500 nurses.
Pantai also provides supplementary healthcare services comprising comprehensive laboratory and radiology facilities and rehabilitation services. Our College of Nursing & Health Sciences trains more than 600 nurses on a three-year curriculum.
Pantai is part of Parkway Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. For further information on Pantai, please visit: http://www.pantai.com.my