Novel device to treat heart patients in time
Now, there is a ray of hope for more than 3.5 million heart attack patients every year in India. A group of cardiologists on Friday announced the launch of a pioneering technology-powered hand-held device (now in the trial stage) to ensure every heart attack patient in Tamil Nadu gets treated in time.
The device, a sleek touch-sensitive tablet, was demonstrated at Advanced Cardiovascular Therapeutics, a three-day training course conducted by Madras Medical Mission, in association with the Cleveland Clinic (USA) and STEMI India, a non-profit organisation of doctors looking to bring together ambulance services, hospital networking and training to medical staff to treat heart attacks efficiently. ‘STEMI’ stands for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, commonly known as heart attack.
Dr Mullassari Ajit, chief of cardiology at MMM, introduced some of the senior international faculty members who will be chairing sessions to train doctors, nurses and paramedics to diagnose and manage heart attack patients — Dr Chen Jiyan from China, Dr Venu Menon and Dr Ravi Nair
of the Cleveland Clinic and Dr Marc Silvestri from France.
Dr Thomas Alexander, co ordinator of STEMI, announced the pilot project involving four ‘hub’ hospitals —CMC Vellore, MMM, Kovai Medical Centre and Rajiv Gandhi government hospital. Each hub will tie up with 5 to 15 spoke hospitals —smaller clinics and nursing homes, forming clusters of efficient medical care in each area.
“The current time taken for a heart attack patient to get treated with an angioplasty is 360 minutes—6 hours, by which time the heart muscle suffers much damage. This project aims to bring down the time
by half at least, and also compare the modules of emergency care in the government and private sector,” said Dr Alexander.
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