Q: What is congenital and rheumatic heart disease?
    
    A: Congenital Heart Disease is the most common congenital cause of mortality in the first year of life. In developing countries, eight children in 1000 are born with congenital heart disease. Rheumatic Heart Disease is damage to the heart valves usually as a result of a streptococcal throat infection. This disease is more severe, and appears in an earlier age in African children compared with others.

 Q: How are children from abroad referred to the SACH program?

    A: SACH Medical teams travel to partner sites to evaluate pre and post operative patients. Following the children’s examination, the SACH medical team and the local physicians decide together on a list of children requiring heart surgery or catheterization. This list will be used by the local team to prioritize the cases and determine who should be sent for surgery and when, in accordance with available funding. In conjunction with the children’s invitations to the Wolfson Medical Center, SACH undertakes to cover all costs of the medical treatment.

 Q: What are Coumadin clinics?

    A: The cardiology clinics abroad also provide essential follow-up care for children who were previously treated by SACH. To that extent, SACH has set-up coumadin clinics in partner sites for children who have undergone valve replacement and require a drug called Coumadin for the rest of their lives in order to regulate their blood thickness. SACH provides on-going supply of the medicine along with the examination kits required to test the blood, as well as monitors and counsels the clinic’s personnel.

 Q: What is the process in Israel after a child has arrived?   
   
    A: The children that arrive in Israel are met at the airport by a Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) doctor who checks them to see if they are ok after the journey. If they are ok the children are taken to the SACH House for a shower and a meal. After that the children go to the Wolfson Medical Center for a first round of examinations - blood tests, X-rays Echocardiographs etc.  After these examinations the children return to the house and wait until they are called for surgery. This can take between a few days waiting until a couple of weeks – depending on the child’s health condition. After surgery the children stay at the hospital for a week or so, and then they are brought back to the house and continue to go back and forth to the hospital for checkups. Once the child has completely recovered and is healthy enough (usually around one month after surgery if everything is ok) – they are able to return home.

 Q: How can I enter the SACH training program and what does it include?

    A: The trainees are selected by SACH and SACH’s medical partners. SACH provides all trainees with board and lodging, monthly allowance, transportation and makes all the arrangements necessary for the training program. The trained medical personnel will return to their home countries to apply the knowledge acquired, in their respective medical centers and act as SACH medical partners, whether as referral centers for children sent to Israel or by taking part in the continuing development of their centers, which includes the participation in SACH teaching missions carried out on an annual basis.

 Q: What is a pediatric Advanced Life support (PALS) course?

    A: The American Heart Association developed the PALS course over a number of years. The program is based on the input and experience of many specialists worldwide. It is designed for both medical and paramedical personnel who treat and work with children of all ages. The primary aim of this extensive course is to simplify the methods of resuscitation of infants and children, by creating common language for caregivers and unity in therapy. The uniqueness of the PALS course is that the participants work and practice with “smart dummies”. The methods of teaching have been greatly simplified and are presented in a very concise manner. Each “student” is provided with a skill and practice station. More than 50% of the course time is devoted to actual hands on practice on the “dummies” which “react” to their resuscitation efforts according to pre – written scenarios.