Díaz-Canel Tours William Soler Cardiocenter in Havana

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, recently visited the William Soler Pediatric Cardiocenter, a national reference institution for the care of children and adolescents with cardiovascular diseases.

During the exchange with workers and specialists, according to sources from the Presidency on its institutional website, the president highlighted the dedication of the staff in the face of the limitations imposed by the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. Government, which restricts the acquisition of medical supplies and equipment.

Díaz-Canel stressed that the center maintains specialized services despite the shortages, and valued the strategy of digital transformation and artificial intelligence applied to health as a way to improve productivity and confront current difficulties.

The director of the Cardiocenter, Dr. Eugenio Selma Husein Sosa, recalled that the institution was inaugurated on August 26, 1986, by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, and highlighted the symbolism of commemorating its 40th anniversary in the year of the centennial of the birth of the historic leader of the Revolution.

Selma reported that 9,710 pediatric patients with heart conditions are registered in Cuba, and specified that the infant mortality rate from cardiovascular causes dropped from three per thousand live births in 1983 to 0.3 in 2024.

The specialist explained that the national pediatric cardiology network integrates multidisciplinary teams in all provinces and municipalities, with transfer protocols, prenatal diagnosis and patient follow-up, which makes it possible to detect more than 80 percent of heart diseases at the fetal stage.

In the teaching and scientific field, the Cardiocenter has six doctors of science, 16 second-degree specialists and 27 master's degree holders in science, in addition to consulting professors and nursing instructors, which categorizes it as a Research Center and a Science and Technological Innovation entity.

The director denounced that the hospital is on the list of institutions denied the purchase of medicines and equipment in the United States, which directly affects care for Cuban children.

"If anyone wants to know what the blockade is, let them come to the William Soler Pediatric Cardiocenter, here we will show them," the director denounced.

The President stated that periodic visits to health institutions make it possible to appreciate the daily heroism of doctors and nurses, who guarantee quality services despite the energy crisis and the restrictions of the blockade.

"No blackout can turn off hope, no shortage can break the will," he expressed.