Argentina faces heart health crisis amid Milei’s austerity

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Ada, an 83-year-old Argentine woman who is severely anemic, waited six months to get an appointment to operate on a blocked heart due to a lack of supplies and a web of bureaucracy that could have cost her her life.

Cases like Ada’s are becoming more common amid deep spending cuts by the government of President Javier Milei, who took office in December promising to resolve a serious economic crisis in Argentina, which currently faces annual inflation of 209%.

Cardiologists say there is a “perfect storm” of dwindling supplies, doctors leaving the profession and rising healthcare costs that are putting at risk the field of medicine that deals with Argentina’s leading cause of death.

Demand for medical care in public hospitals has increased in recent months, in line with growing poverty, saturating waiting rooms, while budgets are being cut and hospitals are facing higher costs due to increases in public services.

Currently, more than half of Argentines live below the poverty line.

Argentina’s Ministry of Health did not respond to a request for comment.

LONG WAIT

Ada was lucky to be treated. Her children and the doctor at a public hospital helped her speed up the process, which began in April, and she was able to undergo surgery in October. But now she is facing delays of more than three months in control exams, which should be done monthly.

“It was a difficult few months,” Bibiana Brnjac, Ada’s daughter, told Reuters as her mother recovered from surgery.

“We are still going through difficult times because everything takes time and I think we don’t have time when it comes to our hearts, especially older adults who need treatment right now.”

Last August, a group of cardiologists went on a 48-hour strike, refusing to place stents or perform angioplasties to protest low pay and lack of supplies, only treating emergency cases.

Enrique Stazzone, a cardiologist at Hospital de Clínicas, a teaching hospital that sees more than 1,000 patients a day, said demand is increasing and the hospital is struggling to maintain the standard of care.

“You try to maintain the quality of care,” Stazzone said, adding that sometimes that “can’t be translated into reality because the patient can’t afford it.”

Pablo Stutzbach, president-elect of the Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC), said that the lack of investment in health and low salaries are causing an exodus of doctors greater than what occurred after the 2001 economic crisis.

“A lot of well-trained doctors have left, and now doctors are not willing to sacrifice 10 or 12 years without a life plan or the chance to get ahead financially,” Stutzbach said.

A SAC study showed that cardiologists in Argentina are suffering from a burnout rate of nearly 80%, compared to 30% in the United States.

“We don’t know how much longer we can last,” Stazzone said. “It’s a difficult question, because the other side of it is that if we don’t do it, it will mean people’s lives.”