Sept. 22--BROOKFIELD -- In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, one of the most popular eating spots is called Carnivore.
"The only thing they serve is meat," said cardiologist Dr. Robert Jarrett, who has an office here.
For when given the chance, Jarrett said, people in Third World countries readily adopt the First World diet -- fatty, salty fast food.
"People there are no different than they are here," he said.
Add the modern convenience of cars -- and air pollution -- plus lifestyles that require more computer work and less exercise, then throw in the omnipresent availability of cigarettes, and the Third World is facing a First World epidemic of heart disease.
"It's not a good thing," Jarrett said. "We see a huge increase in coronary disease in these countries in the next 20 to 30 years."
For 13 years, Jarrett made two trips a year with Healing the Children NE to help modernize the treatment of heart disease in St. Petersburg, Russia. Although the missions brought as many medical supplies as they could pack, their primary goal was to teach Russian doctors modern medical techniques.
With that project a success, Jarrett set his sights on Vietnam, training doctors at Choray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, once known as Saigon.
In 2008, with his wife Menoo Afkari-Jarrett, he founded Hearts Around the World -- the organization that now runs his missions.
Hearts Around the World operates with virtually no overhead -- it has no staff, no office.
"We do all the legwork," said Afkari-Jarrett, who owns Menoo Rug Gallery on Federal Road in Brookfield and is executive director of Hearts Around the World.
"I take calls for Hearts Around the World in my store, while I'm talking to customers. The customers get so interested, they want to help."
Their model is succeeding. In October, the two will head another trip to Vietnam. On the same day, Hearts Around the World will send its first full medical team to start work on a new project in Nairobi.
Several members on the staff of Danbury Hospital -- where Jarrett works as a cardiologist -- will be part of this mission.
For cardiac nurse-practitioner Tammy Higgins, it's her first time going overseas with a team.
"It's something I've always wanted to do -- to share my knowledge with others," she said. When Jarrett offered her a spot with the Kenya team, she readily accepted.
"I'm planning to work hard," she said. "I want to do a lot of hands-on education and a lot of training."
Dr. Cary Passik, chief of cardiac surgery at Danbury Hospital, has already gone with Jarrett to Vietnam. He'll be going to Kenya for a second time -- he was part of an advance team in February that included his son, documentary filmmaker Greg Passik.
Greg's video of the trip can be seen at Vimeo.com.
Passik said the Kenyan doctors he's met are smart and experienced. They've learned to do a lot with a little, he said.
"But it's a poor country with poor hospitals," Passik said. "There are nine heart surgeons in a country of 40 million people."
Finally, Hearts Around the World is set to open a third project, in Milot, Haiti.
"We were all set to go last year, after the earthquake," Afkari-Jarrett said. "But the cholera epidemic there kept us away."
"We're ready this year," Jarrett said.
Because of the coming epidemic in coronary disease around the world, Jarrett said, doctors and hospitals everywhere are going to have to learn how best to prevent it and treat it. Hearts Around the World -- which puts nearly every dollar it raises into care -- is gearing up to spread that knowledge.
"We have really good people to help us," Afkari-Jarrett said. "We're very excited."
Contact Robert Miller at bmiller@newstimes.com or at 203-731-3345.
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