In severe cases of degenerative aortic stenosis—or what is the same, the narrowing of the valve in the large blood vessel that originates from the heart (aorta) and does not allow the valve to open completely, which reduces blood supply and makes it much harder for the heart to function—the option is to operate for the purpose of repairing or replacing the valve.

The heart of patients with this condition can weaken and cause chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath; and also, stop beating.

Dr. Leonardo López Ferrero, interventional cardiologist and head of the ICCC’s Cardiology and Hemodynamics service, knows this. He is in charge of the team of specialists who this Monday implanted the first minimal access percutaneous aortic valve in Cuba.

The procedure, novel in the country and performed on two patients, places Cuban interventional cardiology in a valuable line of development for the treatment and quality of life of people with this condition, and who cannot be beneficiaries of conventional surgery.

Why is it a beneficial procedure?

According to the specialized literature, degenerative aortic stenosis has an estimated prevalence of between 4% and 7% in the population over 65 years of age. Around 30% of cases do not undergo surgery, due to contraindications to surgical treatment and associated comorbidities. Meanwhile, the global mortality of patients with this condition is 50% to 60%, between the first two and three years after diagnosis, if no intervention is performed.

Through two femoral arteries and a radial artery, the entire minimally invasive procedure is performed, Dr. López Ferrero highlighted.

“Greater advantages for the patient’s recovery, a less aggressive approach, a shorter hospital stay and the possibility of returning more quickly to family and work life, are some of the benefits it offers,” he said.

The interventional cardiologist explained that the two valves that were implanted today are percutaneous, that is, they are transported in a catheter to the aortic valve, a catheter is taken to the narrow aortic valve and the new valve (from bovine pericardium) that is assembled over a stent replaces the patient without the need for open surgery.

For López Ferrero, introducing this new technique in interventional cardiology in the country has a great impact: “In Cuba, more than 30% of our population is already over 75 years old and this is a disease that appears in advanced ages of life,” he specified.

The donation of the devices by the European company Iberhospitex S.A. and coming from India, allowed this very expensive intervention to be carried out, the specialist pointed out.

“These valves are priced at around 20,000 euros and, if you add the necessary equipment and consumables, the cost can rise to 60,000 euros,” he said.

According to the expert, the placement of these devices is the first step for the gradual start of a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) program, for which the ICCC is committed, although the institution has For many years, he has operated patients of this type and performed surgical replacement of the valve, by conventional approach.

It would benefit people who meet the established criteria (electrocardiographic, echocardiographic, angiographic and tomographic established and who have cardiac surgery contraindicated due to the high risk it entails).

Dr. Carmen Rosa Martínez Fernández, director of the Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, stressed to the press that the medical act goes beyond performing a procedure, since it is part of a practical training workshop that follows the continuous training received by cardiologists center interventionists, and that can be extended to professionals from the rest of the country.

A multidisciplinary team made up of cardiologists from the Institute and the William Soler Cardiocenter, cardiovascular surgeons, sonographers, imaging specialists, anesthesiology specialists and nursing staff, were present at the intervention, which was accompanied by the Spanish doctor Ignacio Amat Santos, head of Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology at the University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid.

Martínez Fernández pointed out that Dr. López, head of the institute’s Cardiology and Hemodynamics service, has been trained in Barcelona hospitals on several occasions to perform this procedure. The presence here of Spanish teachers today is also part of a continuous process of training and collaboration.

“The Cuban population is aging and there is a degeneration of the aortic valve as a result of this demographic phenomenon,” said the specialist who insisted on the advantages of the patient’s quality of life.

“Relatives and patients have given informed consent for this to be done with a high degree of gratitude, convinced that it is a developmental step for the better,” she added.

This is also the opinion of Professor Pedro Nodal, head of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Surgical Unit of the ICCC and Dr. Luis Leonel Martínez Clavel, anesthesiologist in charge of the new procedure.

“This is the first time we are going to do it here. We chose general anesthesia as a protocol because it is the safest way for the patient and also for us to be able to provide that security. Despite the fact that other techniques are performed in the world, even with local anesthesia and sedation, we cannot run before crawling”, explains Martínez Clavel.

Professor Nodal ratifies it, all the support in surgery, anesthesiology, perfusionists in charge of operating the extracorporeal circulation machine is guaranteed to assume any eventuality.

The Spanish doctor Ignacio Amat Santos, head of Hemodynamics and Interventional Cardiology at the University Clinical Hospital of Valladolid, expresses his satisfaction “for carrying out, together with my colleagues from the Institute of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, the first minimally invasive aortic prosthesis implant interventions, without the need to open patients, only aided by a small catheter”, he said.

He explained that these valves were developed in the early 2000s. “Some patients had complications from such a major procedure as opening the chest to change a heart valve. So an attempt was made to develop something less aggressive, that the patient tolerated better, that they could go home earlier, that they would recover faster. And the implantation of a valve inside a stent was developed that folds and is inserted through a very fine tube from the groin to the heart, and then inside the diseased valve and correct its malfunction, ”he pointed out.

Amat Santos pointed out that, although the initial experiences were complex, enough experience has already been acquired to generalize its use little by little in the population “and we are working on developing this technique in Havana.”

In Spain, he said, between 4,000 and 5,000 procedures are performed annually in various hospitals. Some countries like Germany or the United States have carried out many interventions of this type and already number in the hundreds of thousands.

But, he added, it was only two years ago that research showed that in patients at low risk for open surgery that option was better. “This means that we have to try to generalize it to all patients who need an intervention of this type in the heart,” he pointed out.

On the socialization of science and medical advances, the Spanish expert believed that it is fundamental, while the entire learning curve that has taken place over the last two decades, since this therapy began with the first patients, is shared. the most complex.

Added to this is the importance of professionals being trained and specialized, “because technology is essential but skill is something that must be learned,” he said, and highlighted the link that has been established with Cuba in this regard.

“I am convinced that the center will soon be performing these interventions almost routinely,” said the specialist.

The first step has already been taken, and two Cubans —one from Havana and the other from Mayabeque— are now evolving stable and satisfactorily, with the hope of returning to a full life a little closer.

(By: Lisandra Farinas Acosta/Cubadebate)

At his own request, he is already in Havana, where he was received at the José Martí International Airport by Dr. Pablo Castillo Díaz, director of the Institute of Sports Medicine, who welcomed him on behalf of the Cuban sports movement and people.

Speaking to Jit, Castillo recalled that Veitía fell ill during a family visit to Spain. There he was treated. Based on the health situation presented, the Inder collaborated with his return to the country and will guarantee his medical care together with the Ministry of Health. He will be treated at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital.

Ihosvany Veitía, son of the emblematic coach, accompanied him from Alicante to Havana. He emphasized that his father has a happy smile since he learned of his return to the homeland.

“My dad is proud of his Cubanness. I want to thank all the efforts made by Inder, the Cuban government and its consulate in Spain, for the rapid processing of everything and for the support they have given us to have him here”, he stressed.

Upon his arrival, Professor Veitía received the affection and admiration of the Inder officials and the workers of the capital’s air terminal.

(With information from Jit)

According to the BNC, this edition deserved the praise of the Codalario magazine , one of the most prestigious in the field of Spanish music criticism, initialed by the specialist Albert Ferrer, who valued the relevance of the work.

Apart from biographical and personal experiences, in the book Alicia Alonso is firm in the defense of the value of culture as a bulwark for the artist, the knowledge of tradition, the ethical and aesthetic commitment to ballet, Ferrer stressed.

In Dialogue with Dance, the founder of BNC presents ballet as a national expression of peoples in their idiosyncrasy, as a manifestation of universal character due to physical potential, and expression of art linked to the subject, the BNC press release refers.

With its publication, the author denounced discriminatory attitudes and racial and cultural prejudices that marked her time before which she did not bow, while pointing out the difference between school and ballet style.

The book of the most universal dancer in Cuba, which is on sale in the main bookstores in Spain, is an editorial event and has aroused the interest of professionals in the performing arts.

(With information from Prensa Latina)

Lázaro Rafael Fundora Hernández made his first export of lemons to Spain recently. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee.

Lázaro Rafael Fundora Hernández is a man who does not believe in luck. Making his first export of lemons to Spain and directing the sale of avocados abroad has been the result of many years of perseverance. “What we achieved was a family endeavor, we proposed them and we achieved it,” he says without stopping the movement of the mincer over the lands where he was born.

After two years of efforts to place its products outside the borders, the new legal regulations that allow non-state businesses to access the international market, opened the doors to an old desire.

“As a producer, I had been trying for a couple of years because I have always believed that the future of development in this country is based on exports. This is the most effective way to collect foreign currency that helps us to buy what we need ”, he says.

In the middle of the guardrail and under the overcast sky that predicts water, this farmer confesses that despite multiple efforts, until now he had not had that possibility , since there were always difficulties in receiving payment.

“We did not have the way to obtain the profits because the Credit and Service Cooperatives do not manage accounts in foreign currency. Now new resolutions like 315 have come out, where we have legal protection to do so ”.

Heir to a family tradition that dates back to his grandparents, Fundora Hernández recognizes the challenge of having exportable quality products , a fact that does not worry him despite the difficulties he faces in achieving it.

“We compete in a very demanding market, where hygiene and presence are above all ensured. We must also bear in mind that we are inserting ourselves in a consolidated niche, and we must understand its logic to be competitive ”.

There are several requirements to be able to export the fruits to the European country.

There are several requirements to be able to export the fruits to the European country.

Good color, juiciness, size and being free of scratches and pests are some of the basic requirements demanded by the client. Demands that this landowner and his family meet to the letter. “It is a challenge given our scarce technology and Cuba’s poor agricultural development. The secret is to put all the effort to the earth ”.

Thanks to that consecration, Lazaro already put 1.08 tons of Persian lime or lemon on the Old Continent.

After touring part of the three caballerias that make up the La Esperanza farm , this producer confirms that to achieve exportable products not only requires good will, but also requires advice and scientific certification.

“The first thing was to certify the phytosanitary conditions since there cannot be pests that pose a threat to the outside world. We set traps and the samples were taken to the laboratory so that everything was in order. It was followed for two years because there are pests that are seasonal, ”he says.

With this important step overdue, he went in search of the exporting company. His hortened path was due to the fact that for years it had contractual ties with the Frutas Selectas Company, enabled for these tasks.

The next order will be the sale of avocados.

“I already had a stable working relationship because I was selected to market tourism products some time ago. We only had to inquire about potential clients and update the contracts ”.

In Lázaro Rafael’s opinion, receiving the advice of the Cuban company was not a deterrent. The entity’s expertise allowed it, among other things, to have support for the transportation of products, at a time when COVID-19 hinders any international movement.

For the Mayan peasant, this is only the first step. The lands of the Madruga municipality will also see the demand for mango and purple cherimoya multiply , very desirable products for the Italian and Canadian counterparts who await the arrival of pulp, pieces or other preparations from the Greater Antilles.

“We have made the maximum effort to achieve the export, even to reach the airspaces. Fruits have a limited life and therefore there can be no delays in transportation and with the closings of the COVID it has been complex ”, acknowledges Fundora showing the correct sealing of one of the boxes full of avocado.

The next order will be the sale of avocados.

“My goals were always to work for the sale abroad and thus acquire supplies and equipment to improve the production of the farm. We are clear that Cuba cannot supply these necessary implements for each peasant and that is why each one must do everything possible to be more self-sufficient in this regard, “he warned.

Aware of the deficit of lemon and other citrus fruits in the country, he reveals that it is not a contradiction at all to export them abroad. “If we want to improve the harvests here, we have to find currency to replenish ourselves. Lime is a rare product in Cuba and difficult to achieve and that is a challenge for me. Anyone can achieve the easy, the difficult only those who propose it ”.

This is how the project of this farmer who is involved in taking his fruit to Europe advances. While the products of the La Esperanza farm are already displayed on the shelves of the stores in Spain, Lázaro looks at the earth and sees the dream come true of his grandfather, a man who taught him that great works are not carried out by the strength, but by perseverance.

(By: Oscar Figueredo Reinaldo)

The plaintiffs sought to base their claim on the alleged illegitimate exploitation of hotels in Cuba, built on land nationalized in accordance with Law 890 of 1960, after the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, and managed by the Meliá group since the late 1980s and early 90s, Prensa Latina reports.

The order is direct and clear, stating that a Spanish court has no authority to determine whether the nationalization conducted by the Cuban state in 1960 was lawful or not.

According to PL, Lower Court No. 24 in Palma de Mallorca issued a ruling fully supporting the arguments presented by Meliá Hotels International, denying jurisdiction and international judicial competence to consider the lawsuit filed by the Santa Lucia sugar mill corporation against the hotel chain.

This U.S. based corporation asserts that, before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, it owned land on Esmeralda Beach, allegedly expropriated by the Cuban state after the approval of Law 890 of October 15, 1960.

The complaint is based on alleged illicit enrichment by Meliá which manages the Sol Río, Luna Mares, and Paradisus Río de Oro hotels, built much later on this beach.

Via this legal procedure, the lawsuit against Meliá was in fact intended to challenge the legitimacy of Cuban laws that established the framework for expropriation of lands, including those the plaintiffs claim to have owned.

In this sense, the court clearly perceived that the consideration of any such procedure required prior determination of the legality of the Cuban government’s nationalizations, concluding that a Spanish court cannot assess whether a nationalization conducted by a sovereign state was legal or not.

According to the court, the plaintiffs’ hypothetical right to compensation, based on the hotels’ earnings, could only be recognized if their property rights were recognized, which would imply conducting a trial and denying the Cuban state’s property rights.

Such a process would be beyond the Spanish court’s jurisdiction, as the ruling acknowledges.

Meliá Hotels Internacional expressed its total agreement with the ruling which, with absolute respect for applicable law, begins the necessary clarification of the real limits on such extraterritorial claims.

Source: Meliá

The agreements between Spain and Cuba stem from a deal reached in December 2015, with the Paris Club ad hoc group and bilateral negotiations between the two countries. This past February, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, a Council of Ministers vice president recognized Spain’s efforts toward reaching a mutually beneficial debt agreement.

During his visit to Madrid, Cabrisas Ruiz noted that now is a good time to continue strengthening trade and expanding investment in accordance with the countries priorities. He noted that the creation of a counter-value fund established through the agreements signed today will enable Spanish businesses to make medium and long-term investments in the country in Cuban National Pesos (CUP).
Last February, Spain again made available medium and long-term credit insurance coverage for Cuban exports through the country’s Export Credit Agency CESCE.

The agreements restructuring Cuba’s debt were signed by Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, a Council of Ministers vice president, and Luis De Guindos Jurado, minister of Economy and Competitiveness; Emma Navarro Aguilera, director of the Official Credit Institute (ICO), a public bank affiliated with the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness; and Beatriz Reguero, CESCE Country Risk and Debt Management Department Manager, on behalf of Spain.

Also present at the signing were Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime García Legaz, together with Arnaldo Alayón Bazo, vice president of the Central Bank of Cuba, Amelia Morales Domínguez, deputy minister of Economy and Planning, and Eugenio Martínez Enríquez, Cuban ambassador to Spain, among other officials.

(Granma)

Yesterday Maduro urged the Spanish government to rectify its stance of aggressions and accused the Spanish authorities of being behind an international conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate government of Venezuela.

Venezuelan President reported that from the Spanish government receives relies terrorism of the extreme right of the South American country relies.

Speaking to reporters at the Congress of Deputies, García Margallo considered intolerable the adjectives used by the Venezuelan authorities, for which he proceeded to call the Spanish ambassador.

(Prensa Latina)

In this scenario is framed a new campaign led by Spanish newspapers close to Government, including “El Mundo” (4) and “ABC” (5) about the presence of ETA members in Cuba.

It all started with the recent visit to Havana of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spanish president. His visit, a private one, was framed in an international initiative that calls on governments to the definitive abolition of the death penalty. Cuba still remains in its Penal Code, although not applied since 12 years ago (6).

Cuban President Raul Castro personally serviced the request of Zapatero, who in turn supported Cuba in its claim to be removed from the “list of countries that support terrorism” prepared by the White House, which implies sanctions added to the block that already suffers the island (7).

Fact that Raul Castro had received Zapatero and had not received to the current Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo in November, irritated the Spanish Government and its nearest press (8).

The newspaper “El Mundo” even published in little more than a week up to 16 notes and articles justifying the tantrum of the Spanish Government (9).

The García- Margallo Minister criticized Zapatero with an argument that discovers how Spain is trying to obstruct the nascent Cuba-US dialogue: Madrid would be asking the White House to keep Cuba in that “terrorist list” while La Habana no extradite to Madrid two ETA members residing in Cuba (10).

In that way, Government and Spanish press took the opportunity to revive the myth of the Cuban government alleged collaboration with ETA.

Remember that these people were accepted in Cuba -as others in Panama , Uruguay , Nicaragua, Cape Verde, Sao Tome , Venezuela and the Dominican Republic- over 30 years ago and as a response to an express request of the Spanish government of Felipe González (11). The current request for the extradition of two of them would be based on their names supposedly appeared on the computer of the Colombian bushwhacker leader killed in 2008, Raúl Reyes (12), whose hard drives were (according to numerous human rights organizations) manipulated by Colombian Intelligence Services (13).

The extradition request also seems out of time: the FARC negotiated with the Colombian government for two years a definitive peace precisely in Havana (14); and ETA had definitely ceased fire for more than three years (15).

On February 28 , journalist of the newspaper ” El Mundo ” Angels Escrivá , in a text entitled ” Spain seeking extradition of two historic ETA to Cuba ” , exercised de facto spokesman of the Spanish Government ( 16). ` Havana gave no answer ( to the above request for extradition ) , he said, despite ( …) which is key for Spain would approve the claim ” of Cuba to be removed from the US list of partner countries with terrorism.

This arrogant and neocolonial blackmail played a trick on the journalist, who committed two anthology rabbits in the story.

At fist was affirmed that “the issue (extraditions) is a key for Spain to withdraw the Castro regime from the list of countries collaborating with terrorism”; confusing the authorship of the famous list and attributing that to Spain, not to the US government that is which really makes it. In other way, referring to two ETA members who allegedly live in Cuba, recognizing that “nobody of them have pending cases” with the Spanish Justice, added that “their deportation to Spain would demonstrate a good volition” from Cuba. The question is obvious: if these people have no pending cases, what is the judge to which should give them Cuba?

Summarizing, the Popular Party uses, once again, the “terrorism” theme to attract an electorate that is in mass escape; and the great Spanish press show, once again, its propagandist role. In this case, the propagandist role is not only for the Spanish government, but from the US policy positions that stay also at right of the White House (17).

(1) http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=175567

(2) http://www.huffingtonpost.es/2015/03/08/encuesta-metroscopia_n_6825502.html

(3) http://gara.naiz.eus/eta-anuncia-cese-definitivo-actividad-armada.php

(4) http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2015/02/28/54f19c98268e3e333d8b4573.html

(5) http://www.abc.es/espana/20150302/abci-margallo-zapatero-201503021054.html

(6) http://www.noticias24.com/internacionales/noticia/98762/raul-castro-recibio-en-cuba-al-expresidente-espanol-jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/

(7) http://noticias.terra.es/mundo/latinoamerica/zapatero-cierra-gira-a-cuba-que-causa-ira-del-gobierno-espanol,cd0ae7f51a7cb410VgnCLD200000b1bf46d0RCRD.html

(8) http://www.libertaddigital.com/espana/2015-02-26/margallo-muy-molesto-tilda-de-desleal-e-inoportuno-el-viaje-de-zapatero-y-moratinos-a-cuba-1276541747/

(9) http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2015/02/27/54f0377be2704e240b8b4574.html

(10) http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2015/03/02/54f43ae7e2704e9b578b4576.html

(11) http://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/eta-venezuela-audiencia-nacional-20100324.html

(12) http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=191453

(13) http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=67521

(14) http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/internacional/noticias/6507152/02/15/Negociaciones-de-paz-con-las-FARC-han-evitado-unas-5000-victimas-segun-un-informe.html#.Kku8X4RtayrP98C

(15) http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2014/09/27/eta-hace-llamado-para-aprovechar-contexto-favorable-para-independencia-vasca-video/#.VP9gb47SmCU

(16) http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2015/02/28/54f119f5e2704e5d128b4579.html

(17) http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/internacional/2015/02/26/senador-republicano-dice-kerry-cuba-refugio-eta-farc/00031424974297652793132.htm

(José Manzaneda,Cubainformación)

At the ceremony, the house of higher studies highlighted Leal work in the process of restoration and conservation of the historic area of Havana, combined with the economic and social development of his community.

The Historian of Havana thanked the distinction and stressed the historic ties between Spain and his country.

The solemn ceremony, which coincided with the official opening of the academic year 2011-2012 of the University of Alicante, was attended by Cuba’s ambassador in Spain, Alejandro Gonzalez.

The AU has a long tradition of collaboration with counterpart institutions in the Caribbean island.

In June this year the University hosted the X Bilateral Meeting of university rectors from Cuban and Spain.

(Prensa Latina)