As many as 200 patients, all from weaker sections of society, got a new lease of life thanks to an angioplasty workshop conducted by the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. It was conducted in collaboration with the Dr. Govindraju Subramani Heart foundation and Medtronic Vascular Division, Santarosa, the U.S.
Most of the beneficiaries are farmers, daily wagers, streetvendors, autorickshaw drivers, garment workers and senior citizens from Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. All of them were given free stents. According to institute Director C.N. Manjunath, performing 200 angioplasties in four days is technically demanding. It was possible because the institute has seven cath labs, 75 full-time cardiologists and adequate number of technical and nursing staff, he said.
Of the 200 patients, 25% were below 50 years and 18 per cent were women. The youngest patient was a 28-year-old bar attender and the oldest a 81-year-old male. “While 45% of the beneficiaries are diabetic, 46 % are suffering from hypertension. Nearly 40% are smokers and more than 20% have high cholesterol levels,” said Dr. Manjunath.
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