CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - An attending cardiologist from the Gjilan/Gnjilane Regional Hospital spoke to Kosovo Forces medical personnel here April 9 about treating heart attacks.
About 35 military medical professionals from across Kosovo, including Soldiers from the United States, Denmark, Germany and Sweden, attended the lecture by Dr. Agron Leka on the use of drugs to dissolve blood clots in cardiac patients.
"I consider it a privilege to speak here at Camp Bondsteel," said Leka. "It's a good opportunity to show how we work."
Multinational Battle Group East's Task Force Med Falcon conducts hospital Grand Rounds every Friday. In the past, only members of the Camp Bondsteel hospital staff have given presentations.
"We decided to ask Dr. Leka to speak because he is so highly thought of by the Kosovo and KFOR doctors who have worked with him," said Maj. Christopher Burgess, Canton, Mich., the Grand Rounds coordinator. "We are pleased to be able to have him."
The hospital Grand Rounds are designed to provide continuing education for KFOR doctors, medics, nurses and other health professionals, said Burgess.
Task Force Med Falcon nurse anesthetist Capt. Eugene Vajna, of Orlando, Fla., met Leka at the Gjilan/Gnjilane hospital and worked to bring him to Camp Bondsteel.
"He's a very skilled cardiologist," Vajna said.
Vajna hosted Leka on his short visit to Camp Bondsteel, which included a tour of the hospital.
"I am very impressed by the hospital," Leka said. "From the very beginning when you entered the emergency department, everything is set up the way it's supposed to be."
Leka said the purpose of his presentation was to give the KFOR health professionals more familiarity with the kinds of treatment that Kosovo hospitals are able to give heart attack patients.
"Cardiovascular disease in Kosovo is number one for causing death and disabilities in patients and in the population," he said. "But we can use the golden hour - from the time of the onset of symptoms - to treat a patient with clot busting drugs and help the patient survive. This is one of the capabilities we have here."
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