Telangana: Free life-saving heart procedures for poor in government hospitals

On an average, every month Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital conduct at least 450 angiograms and implants anywhere between 150 and 160 stents for free of cost on poor patients

Hyderabad: Heart procedures like angiograms and implanting stents to unblock clogged arteries, have been traditionally a domain of private hospitals. Such procedures that require experienced faculty and high-end medical infrastructure were unheard-of in government hospitals. For the last year or so, however, life-saving heart procedures are available for free of cost in government hospitals.

On an average, every month Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital (OGH) conduct at least 450 angiograms and implants anywhere between 150 and 160 stents for free of cost on poor patients.

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The availability of high-end medical diagnostic equipment like Cath lab and CT scans have now made it possible for hospital surgeons to offer such procedure free of cost.

Installed in December, 2021, the Cath lab and CT scan facilities at Gandhi Hospital are enabling the experienced faculty to take-up such life-saving surgeries.

“Apart from heart procedures, we are also utilising Cath lab for cerebral angiograms for patients suffering from blocked blood vessels in the brain, known as aneurism. Of course, 90 percent of the patients are heart patients in a Cath lab but the remaining comprise brain stroke patients,” says Dr M Raja Rao, Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital.

In the last year or so, similar Cath labs with high-end medical equipment have been established at tertiary government hospitals at Adilabad, Warangal, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Siddipet and Hyderabad.

“Our cardiology team, in addition to conducting angiograms and implanting, treats at least 200 heart attack patients by conducting emergency heart procedures. All the patients who undergo such surgeries at OGH are extremely poor but we ensure that they have access to best facilities for free of cost,” says Dr B Nagender, Superintendent, OGH.

The Cardiology department of OGH acts as a hub for 20 government health care facilities in the districts. Under the ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) model, heart attacks patients in districts are first stabilised locally and then transported quickly to OGH for undergoing heart surgeries.