Dr Sparman Gives Talk At St Thomas Parish Church

July 20, 2012 - PRLog -- On Monday July 16th, 2012, Dr Alfred Sparman American Board Certified Intervention Cardiologist donated a few hours of his spare time to give a talk to the Men’s Fellowship at St Thomas Parish Church in Barbados.  

The talk was organised as part of the Men’s Fellowship week of activities for the St Thomas Parish church, however the invitation was extended to all members of the congregation.  At 7.30pm dressed down in jeans and a shirt Dr Sparman greeted the crowd, cracking a few jokes as usual to lighten the mood before proceeding with his presentation entitled ‘Mattes of the Heart’.

Dr Sparman has been working in the field of cardiology for nearly twenty years and currently is the only interventional cardiologist in Barbados, in the Caribbean.  Based at The Sparman Clinic in Belleville, St Michael, a fully equipped, state of the art facility Dr Sparman has dedicated the last twelve years of his career to treating and preventing heart problems in Barbados and its neighbouring islands.  

The Men’s Fellowship at St Thomas Parish Church take a holistic approach to health, placing emphasis not only on spiritual wellbeing but also on physical health.  Dr Sparman is known for being a Christian, insisting prior to each surgery that his whole operating team pray, a tradition many patients are both thankful and touched about.  This meant Dr Sparman was an obvious choice to speak to the congregation.

Always considerate of other’s level of understanding Dr Sparman eased the crowd into the talk, starting with basic information on the heart, its structure and how a healthy heart works.  He then went on to explain the electrical system of the heart and how electrical impulses regulate the contraction of muscles in the heart that pump blood around the body.  With all in understanding Dr Sparman went on to explain problems that can occur in the heart, such as:
•   Cardiovascular disease
•   Heart arrhythmias
•   Cardiomyopathy
•   Coronary Artery Disease

Dr Sparman explained the symptoms of these common heart problems and techniques such as EKG, echocardiogram, blood tests etcetera that can be performed to obtain diagnosis.  He then went on to explain treatments, placing emphasis on the importance of early diagnosis in order to avoid the more extreme forms of treatment, which included angioplasty, pacemaker insertion and cardiac surgery.

The presentation part of the talk ended with suggestions on how to improve one’s lifestyle to avoid heart problems and improve health.  This fitted perfectly with the foundation’s holistic stance on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

The talk culminated with a question and answer session, with Dr Sparman posing questions to the congregation to ensure that they had not only paid attention and had learnt something.  He also took time to answer all of their health questions of which there were a few.

The Men’s Foundation at St Peter Parish Church was very grateful for Dr Sparman to take time out of his busy schedule to speak with them about their health.  Likewise Dr Sparman an advocate of healthy living was delighted to have been asked to provide the talk.