The NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS), Andhra Pradesh Medical Graduates USA (APMGUSA) and American Heart Association (AHA) are jointly setting up an International Emergency Medical Education and Training Centre at Guntur Medical College (GMC) on a pilot basis to offer Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support courses to health care professionals and diversify into emergency care research in later stages.
This is the first-of-its-kind facility in government sector in the country aimed at imparting skills to the emerging class of physicians and paramedical staff in managing Myocardial Infarction which is commonly known as heart attack.
Announcing this at a press conference here on Wednesday, GMC principal K.S. Varaprasad and vice-principal T. Venugopala Rao said the training centre was a part of the A.P Emergency Care Project and it would be of immense benefit to those handling emergencies involving heart attacks.
Most of the health care professionals and people in general know what a heart attack is but nothing much could be done by them to save lives as they lack basics and the situations are aggravated by poor infrastructure.
Visiting faculty of AHA and local doctors specialising in emergency care would impart the requisite skills to them in a phased manner.
APMGUSA Coordinator and AHA Regional Faculty Vemuri S. Murthy said AHA was disseminating valuable information about heart attacks and also doing pioneering research and the GMC was fortunate to have tied up with it for spreading awareness of emergency care.
He pointed at overweight, stress and unhealthy diet as the predominant causes of heart attack.
In India, genetic anomalies were also to be blamed in many cases.
Meet on emergency care
GMC is hosting the 3rd State Convention on Emergency Care & Training on Jan 27 (Sunday).
Its theme is ‘Reducing Morbidity and Mortality in Myocardial Infarction and Stroke’.
NTRUHS Vice-Chancellor I.V. Rao will be the chief guest and AHA faculty Peter Meaney, Stephen Prudhomme and Vemuri S. Murthy and Nitin Kabra of Gandhi Medical College and Hyderabad resource persons will participate in the meet.
