If technology was leveraged, death due to heart attack could be prevented to a large extent, said A. Mathavan, Director of Cardiology, Velammal Speciality Hospital, a certified specialist of World Heart Federation, on Tuesday.
Addressing a World Heart Day awareness programme organised at the Mannar Thirumalai College here, Dr. Mathavan pointed out that only about 10 per cent of patients reached a hospital within the ‘golden hour’ for treatment of heart attack. About 50 to 60 of them reached a hospital from seven hours to seven days, by which time the heart muscles would have lost their pumping capacity. About 30 per cent of them did not reach a hospital.
Deterioration of heart muscles could be prevented if the patient reached the nearest hospital to get injected with life-saving drugs. If the ECG of the patient was sent to a cardiologist through WhatsApp, who would guide the local doctor properly, mortality could be brought down, he said.
Time loss could be prevented by giving proper training to doctors and para-medical staff in villages to administer the right injections and then call 108 ambulance to shift the patient to the nearest hospital with Cath Lab facility.
Explaining his dream project, ‘Freedom from Heart Attack,’ Dr. Mathavan said that doctors and nurses in rural areas would be trained to handle heart attack patients and a team of cardiologists spread across hospitals would guide them using technology. He cited a recent instance of a patient in a Malawi village getting treated by passing information over an Android phone to him and expressed confidence that about 100 patients could be treated in a month in this manner.
Heart attack, a stealthy customer, could be avoided by not indulging in smoking; keeping diabetes under control; avoiding food that would increase bad cholesterol; not being obese; keeping blood pressure and stress levels under control; not eating fast food; consuming green vegetables and by staying away from fried food. In the last five years, there had been many cases of heart attack among people around 30 years of age due to stress and consumption of fast food, he said.
Students of the college displayed a heart formation. M. Vijayaragavan, secretary, and S. Nehru, Principal, addressed the participants.
R, Raja Govindasamy, Director, welcomed the gathering.
