‘Timely treatment critical in saving STEMI patients’

Over 750 healthcare professionals attend conference to learn the latest in treating critical heart ailments

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh has the potential to develop ‘Heart Attack Teams’ for quick and appropriate management of patients of STEMI (ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction), a life-threatening heart attack, said experts at the twoday conference on heart problems that began on Saturday.

“STEMI is caused by a sudden complete (100%) blockage of a heart artery. If the blocked artery is opened up within the first few hours of the blockage, the patient has a better chance of survival,” explained Dr VS Narain, head of department of cardiology, King George’s Medical University (KGMU).

Out of 30 lakh cases of STEMI occurring in the country annually, barely 2% of them get essential treatment or primary angioplasty done within 3-24 hours of the attack. For treatment of STEMI to be successful, time and teamwork are critical,” said Prof Rishi Sethi, organising secretary of the conference and senior cardiologist, KGMU.

“While STEMI patients should have a door to balloon (or D2B time—the time taken to successfully reopen the blocked artery) of less than 90 minutes, in India the average time of arrival of a patient to hospital is more than 300 minutes, he said.

Former head of cardiology department at the KGMU Padmashree Prof Mansoor Hasan emphasized that everyone’s contribution is vital for effective team work in management of heart disease. He said that

healthcare professionals must have empathy and uphold moral and ethical values while doing their part in healthcare.

Course coordinators and KGMU cardiologists Dr Akshyaya Pradhan and Dr Pravesh Vishwakarma shared that over

750 delegates from India and abroad are attending this conference that is providing comprehensive training and latest information through focused training workshops conducted by over 50 international and national experts.