By Kaitlyn Nuebel

Jean Pierre Andre was 54 when he arrived at Hôpital La Paix with shortness of breath. It did not take long for doctors to diagnose him with acute pulmonary edema, a buildup of fluid in the lungs often caused by an underlying heart condition.

Doctors injected Andre with a dose of Furosemide to eliminate the excess fluid from his body and gave him a prescription for the medication. With cases of cardiovascular disease – already the leading cause of death in Haiti – growing in prevalence, medications that treat the condition have become essential to providing healthcare.

The Flurosemide doctors used to relieve Andre’s shortness of breath came from a container of medical supplies sent to Haiti by Brother’s Brother Foundation. The shipment also contained Atorvastatin, a drug to used to treat high cholesterol that is commonly prescribed to patients with cardiovascular disease. Both medications and are expected to help hundreds of people afford treatments for cardiovascular disease.

“The donated medicines will allow us to help hundreds of patients living in situations of extreme poverty who suffer from cardiovascular diseases,” said Reginald Jean Gilles, Food For The Poor’s in-country representative. “In the name of all those patients, we send a lot of blessings to the donor and remain forever grateful to them for remembering the people of Haiti.”