Medical experts from inland hospital devoted themselves to the on-going charity congenital heart disease screening in northwest Tibet. With an average of more than one thousand auscultations every day, some of those experts are suffering from altitude reaction and even inflammation.

The charity project “For our children” was launched in Ngari Prefecture on September 5, 2012, aiming at screening and helping local children with congenital heart disease. Being carried out by China Charity Federation and Air Force General Hospital, the project would conduct screening in Gar, Gegye, Gertse and Tsochen counties of Nagri and provide free treatments for diagnosed children.

Different from screening among suspected patients with congenital heart disease before, the on-going screening is conducted among students of primary and junior schools of those counties, which brings much more working load to medical staffs.

Medical experts began to be troubled by serious altitude reaction as soon as they reached Nagri, and had to take pills to prevent delays of the works. Chen Yuanheng and Zhang Haitao, two associate chief physicians majoring in cardiovascular screened more than one thousand cases everyday, whose working time lasted to 10 p.m. Zhang Haitao also suffered from ear inflammation, and had to pull out the stethoscope gradually to protect ears.

The charity medial team has diagnosed nearly 200 children patients with congenital heart disease among more than 5,500 local students so far.

Being called “the roof of world’s roof”, the northwest Tibetan Ngari Prefecture is at an average altitude of 4,500 meters. Its high altitude and severe climate make local children easy to get congenital heart disease.