The Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory of the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital performed 1,602 angiography and angioplasty procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lab functioned uninterrupted during the pandemic, and all patients were screened for COVID-19 before the procedure. A total of 5,043 cardiac intervention procedures have so far been performed at the lab, which was started in 2018. The 5,000th procedure was performed on February 16, hospital dean P. Balaji said in a press release.
The hospital was one of the hubs in the Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative-Heart Attack Management Programme. It had performed 1,602 procedures from February 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021. Doctors said the lab had done remarkably well, more than any other government institution in the State. The Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation and Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project helped to maintain high levels of care and treatment to poor patients.
All the patients were covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. These procedures would normally cost ₹2.5 lakh-₹4 lakh.
The Department of Cardiology, headed by K. Kannan, treated patients from north Chennai and surrounding areas during the pandemic. Uninterrupted services were provided to non-COVID-19 patients.
The hospital has catered for more than 32,500 patients with COVID-19. Many of the patients had associated cardiac problems. A dedicated cardiac intensive care unit was established within the COVID-19 block to manage the acute cardiac problems in these patients. The acute cardiac care unit was headed by the professor and head of the Department of Cardiology, and manned by a team of cardiologists, physicians and anaesthetists. A total of 3,002 COVID-19 patients with cardiac problems were treated. Of them, 250 to 300 patients had heart attacks, the release said.
