site.btaBulgarian Cardiologists Offer Free Checkups in Albanian Areas with Bulgarian Residents

The Bulgarian Memory Foundation and its head, Dr Milen Vrabevski, organize free cardiology checkups in Albania's Mala Prespa Region, where many residents have Bulgarian roots. The initiative aims to contribute to a better quality of life for the local residents and provide them with access to quality and specific medical services, which are not available in the region.

The initiative is held under the auspices of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel with the assistance of the Foreign Ministry, which transported the medical team and equipment with a Spartan military aircraft and provides logistics assistance in the field.

The checkups are carried out under the leadership of world-recognized Bulgarian cardiologist Prof Ivo Petrov and his team from Acibadem City Clinic Cardiovascular Centre, who arrived in Albania together with Executive Director Andrey Markov and a mobile lab with the most modern equipment for cardiopulmonology examinations in Bulgaria, the only one of its kind in this country.

The medical establishment in the village of Pustec services over 2,000 people, but available to them are only two general practitioners and no profiled specialists and equipment.

Dimitri Nikola, a 68-year-old resident of the village of Vernik, said that everyone was very happy when they learned about the Bulgarian doctors' visit. "We come to the checkups with big hope," he added.

Dr Vrabevski said that this is neither the first nor the last charity initiative they are doing for the people in the region.