Helping strengthen cardiac care in Timor-Leste

Associate Professor Elizabeth Paratz, Team Leader of SVI’s Heart Exercise & Research Trials (HEART) Lab and cardiologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, has led a new publication highlighting a landmark achievement for cardiovascular care in Timor-Leste: the establishment of the country’s first Cardiac Society.

Published in Global Heart, the paper outlines how the newly formed Cardiac Society of Timor-Leste will help strengthen the nation’s cardiac workforce, improve training and clinical standards, and support the implementation of Timor-Leste’s first National Heart Health Strategy. Together, these initiatives aim to reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular disease by 20% by 2035.

Liz’s research focuses on improving the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, with a particular interest in delivering better outcomes through education and evidence-based care. She has been travelling to Timor-Leste since 2016 to support cardiac care as Deputy Director of the Timor-Leste Hearts Fund, a charity supporting provision of cardiac services and in-country capacity building.

Timor-Leste faces a significant burden of cardiovascular disease, including high rates of rheumatic heart disease, while access to specialist cardiac services remains limited. There remains no in-country cardiac catheterization laboratory or cardiac surgery.

 The new Cardiac Society will play a key role in building local expertise, developing nationally tailored clinical guidelines and fostering international partnerships.

“Our recent publication in Global Heart embodies some of the great progress being made in Timor-Leste,” said Liz.

“We look forward to many projects and initiatives to come.”