ATLANTA — A local doctor shared his personal story while making strides in advocating against heart disease at the Atlanta Heart Health Fair.
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the country. Dr. Melvin Echols, an associate professor at Morehouse School of Medicine and the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Director at the American College of Cardiology, became an advocate after experiencing complications during a routine surgery.
"I got an opportunity to be a very sick patient and be on the other side of the curtain," said the doctor.
Dr. Echols remembered being the "sickest of the sick" as he was hooked up to machines with at least a 50% chance of dying.
"I obviously have had doctors before, but never to this extent. I was not thought to survive. Actually, I was not supposed to be here," he added. "I had to learn how to walk, talk, eat and all of this stuff again."
Although his complications weren't connected to cardiovascular disease, he explained having the issue made him understand his patients and people on a deeper level, calling the experience a "patient and human being issue."
The incident alone drove him to speak with the CEO of the American College of Cardiology to ask what doctors and experts can do to help patients easily understand their health, leading to the health fair.
He described Tuesday's event as an opportunity for the organization to promote health equity and help the community understand the different ways it can reduce its risk of cardiovascular disease.
"It's more important for people to understand the importance of really sort of maintaining a regimen that will hopefully keep you away from major cardiovascular problems in the future," he said.
The event will feature other organizations, from the American Red Cross, Slutty Vegan to Tai Chi and yoga professionals. Dr. Echols said his organization looks to reach all members of the Atlanta community but emphasized how high blood pressure and heart disease impact the African-American community.
He also elaborated on the many deep-rooted injustices that the organization hopes to combat as it addresses health equity with the event.
"We have many rooted injustices that were born out of a time where certain voices do not matter. And I think that, as we move forward in the name of health equity and justice, we have to understand that," he added.
Dr. Echols and the event organizers are also looking forward to addressing the community's curiosity about other ways to treat high blood pressure besides medicine.
"I often hear a lot of times whenever I'm giving webinars for various churches, a lot of people want to know what are the non-medicine ways to, you know, treat your blood pressure or, you know, prevent a heart attack or prevent a stroke," he added.
The event will be held at the Atlanta Technical College Dennard Conference Center, located on Metropolitan Parkway, from noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Organizers are encouraging the community to attend.