The government has been urged to invest more in the treatment of heart diseases as cases of heart-related problems continue to be registered.
Limuru MP John Kiragu speaking at Makutano in Ndeiya on Tuesday said there are more than 250,000 patients with heart problems in Kenya.
Kiragu who had attended the burial of a class six girl, Leah Njoki who died on Sunday after battling a heart-related problem for nine years claimed the country had less than ten cardiologists despite the rising number of heart patients.
"This is the high time we increased our capacity to treat heart problems as a country by investing more on personnel, equipment and facilities," said Kiragu.
The MP said many lives are being lost due to the country's lack of capacity to handle heart problems adequately.
"We are told that the girl was misdiagnosed and was being treated for the wrong ailments. When she was finally found to have a heart problem at Kenyatta National Hospital, again she could not be treated there because the cardiologists are few," he said.
During the first scientific session of the PSCTS 9th annual conference held at Aga Khan University (AKU) on March 30, 2013 Dr Raj Jutley cardiac surgeon and research director at AKU Nairobi Heart Cancer Centre, said at the time there were only six cardiac Surgeons in Kenya, two in Tanzania and one in Uganda.
"Affordability is a problem and almost 70 percent of the patients die waiting as we are quite expensive," the Fortnightly Pulse International quotes him.