Cardiac centre launched

CHENNAI :A comprehensive heart care centre was launched in a city hospital on Thursday, dedicated to treating cardiac disorders.MIOT Heart Revive Centre, inaugurated on Friday aims to address the elements critical to reviving the heart, said Prof Dr PVA Mohandas, managing director of the hospital. “Patients who are brought to the hospital with chest pains or symptoms of cardiac trouble will be brought straight to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit where specialists will work on reviving them within the first 90 minutes,” he said, addressing press persons at the centre. The CICU has 12 private cubicles which are fully equipped to handle emergency situations.The centre is manned by a team of cardiologists, several of whom have undergone training in the UK, who will be on call 24x7. There are two cath labs which will be ready to undertake operations within 30 minutes. High end equipment available for treatment includes a 750HD CT scan which gives 47 per cent more image clarity to aid in a more accurate diagnosis.Advanced imaging systems in the dedicated electrophysiology lab will help establish the exact part of the heart where the arrhythmia (irregular beating of the heart) originates, enabling the treatment to be given immediately, said Dr Prem Kumar, interventional cardiologist and el ectrophysiologist. “We can reconstruct a 3D image of the heart without having to open it to find the problem. We can also find out the size of stent required if an angioplasty is to be done,” he said during a walkthrough of the centre.The centre was inaugurated by the Rwandan High Commissioner on Friday, and has begun functioning immediately. The project when completed will be able to treat 1,100 patients. The helpline for MIOT Heart Revive Centre is 22499800, 9941366699 and 9840000555. An ambulance specially equipped for cardiac emergencies is also available.Others present at the walkthrough were Mallika Mohandas, chairperson of the hospital; Dr Nandakumar Ramasamy, director of interventional cardiology; Dr VV Bashi, chairman of centre for thoracic and cardiovascular care; Dr Amal Louis, chief cardiologist and head of department of interventional cardiology; Dr Satish Kumar, senior interventional cardiologist and Dr Viswanathan, interventional cardiologist.