Avoid shocking parents with children with heart disease
In the clinic at the Vietnam - Cuba Dong Hoi Friendship Hospital (Quang Binh), Dr. Nguyen Ba Phong - Deputy Head of the Department of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiovascular Center, E Hospital (Hanoi) tried to gently notify the mother sitting opposite to avoid causing a big shock.
The 5 -month -old boy, the son of a poor couple in Dong Hoi (Quang Binh), was diagnosed with a single heart defect - a rare congenital heart defect, of which one of the two ventricles (usually the right ventricle or left ventricle) did not develop adequate or shrink, causing the remaining ventricular to take on the function of both. This deformity requires multiple surgery. Meanwhile, the mother is having to treat depression, a few days ago when she asked to go to the hospital early to take her children to the doctor.
Knowing the patient's condition, Dr. Phong carefully selected a treatment. For other cases, the doctor will have to explain relatively clearly and more decisively so that the family can recognize their child's condition. But for this child, I chose to say the simplest, most concise things so that the relatives would not be too confused. If I say it's true that my child definitely needs heart surgery many times, it could be a big shock for parents," the doctor said.
Doctor Nguyen Ba Phong is a member of a team of nearly 20 doctors from E Hospital (Hanoi) who recently participated in the "Heart for Children" event in Quang Binh, organized by Viettel in coordination with the Vietnam Heart Fund, E Hospital Hanoi and Vietnam - Cuba Dong Hoi Friendship Hospital. This is a free congenital heart screening program and surgical support for children under 18 years old in difficult circumstances. Medical examination activities are carried out in provinces, especially remote areas, to detect diseases early and support treatment and surgery costs.
Travels to the province, providing community health check-ups, for medical practitioners, are a valuable opportunity to interact closely with people in less developed areas, as Dr. Phong described as "if they do not go to the place to help parents find their child's disease, doctors at the upper level will never have the opportunity to meet and treat those less fortunate children".
That is also the common mood and feeling of the team of doctors and nurses who came to visit the people of Quang Binh to examine children at "Heart for Children".
On May 17-18, 2025, the team of doctors at E Hospital examined nearly 700 children in Quang Binh, thereby identifying more than 71 cases of children who need to be monitored or have surgery, and receive early treatment. Families in disadvantaged households with children with congenital heart disease have been instructed on the procedures for registering for support for heart surgery costs from the "Heart for Children" program.
Every child is a story, I try to listen and understand each situation, especially for those in need. They have gone many steps away and woke up very early to see doctors, said Dr. Phong. With many years of experience working in the Pediatrics Department, the doctor has a close and friendly way of talking to children, helping them to be less afraid and for medical examination and treatment to go smoothly.
Having participated in community health check-up programs for children many times, Dr. Phong emphasized the importance of early heart examination. Prompt detection helps children have the opportunity to be healthy, especially in areas lacking specialists, he affirmed, adding that although heart surgery is difficult, modern medicine has helped increase the success rate. Many seriously ill children have had surgery 2-3 times, now they have grown up healthy and are working. Those stories give people more confidence, he said.
In particular, long-term community projects such as Trai tim Cho Em bring hope to disadvantaged families across Vietnam.
This is a meaningful program, creating opportunities for medical forces to access remote areas, places that do not meet the conditions for health care, especially related to medical examination and treatment. Cardiovascular diseases and congenital heart defects are very specific fields, requiring doctors and nurses with high professional qualifications and not all local medical facilities can meet the requirements, said Dr. Phong.
In 2023, also through the program, Dr. Phong and doctors at E Hospital successfully operated on a 40-day-old newborn baby in Ngoc Lac (Thanh Hoa) with severe heart failure. This was a serious illness with a high risk of death, the baby's family immediately followed the working group to Hanoi to allow timely intervention, even though the baby's parents could not afford to pay.
Hope to extend health projects for children, not just heart disease
At the "Heart For Children" event in Quang Binh, the head of the delegation of Hospital E was Dr. Phan Thao Nguyen, Deputy Director of Hospital E and Executive Director of the Cardiovascular Center.
Dr. Nguyen said that the Cardiovascular Center of E Hospital, since its inception 12 years ago, has coordinated with "Heart for You" to coordinate in bringing specialized healthcare to rural and poor areas across the country.
Families in remote areas, poor conditions, not equipped with medical knowledge or access to diagnostic services, often make many diseases in young children easy to ignore and prevent early detection.
Dr. Nguyen emphasized the importance of coordination between organizations such as Viettel and charitable funds. Support from Viettel helps us reach the right target, ensuring the effectiveness of the examinations, Dr. Nguyen shared.
Supporting treatment costs has since brought life opportunities to many children. On average, each heart surgery costs more than a hundred million VND - a huge number for poor families, parents will find it difficult to cope without help.
Viettels approach is to make the most of technology and telecommunications mobile waves to call for suspected cases of heart disease to come for examination, helping us approach the right subjects and provide the most practical support. This model helps the screening efficiency to be much higher than other general examination programs" - Dr. Nguyen said.
The doctor also expressed his desire to expand the scope of the program, not only focusing on heart disease but also supporting other birth defects in children such as cleft palate. The goal is to help children, no matter where they are, have the opportunity to grow up healthy.
