The Creation of the Cardiac Society of Timor-Leste: A Major Step Forward in Timorese Cardiac Health

the median value in LMICs being 13 doctors and in neighbouring Australia 40 doctors (4).There are currently no cardiac-trained nurses, sonographers or cardiac technicians in Timor-Leste (2).Primary care is provided by local healthcare workers, with 76 community health centres and 333 health posts across Timor-Leste (2).Cardiac assessments may be undertaken at one of five hospitals in Baucau, Maubisse, Maliana, Suai and the enclave of Oecusse, or the tertiary Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV) in the capital city of Dili.There is no in-country cardiac catheterisation laboratory or cardiac surgical capacity yet: development of a cardiac catheterisation laboratory within Timor-Leste (2) is planned for 2030.The Timor-Leste Hearts Fund (TLHF, previously the East Timor Hearts Fund) has been active as an official organisation since 2010 (1), and has provided and funded cardiac interventions for over 100 young Timorese, overwhelmingly in Australia (5). CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH IN TIMOR-LESTEMajor challenges in modern Timor-Leste include RHD, the impact of unrepaired congenital cardiac disease, CVD risk factor burden and environmental pollution, all underpinned by limited CVD data collection.