Maharashtra’s cardiac programme has performed nearly 58 lakh ECGs and identified over 34,000 serious heart attack cases
MUMBAI: Maharashtra’s programme to detect and treat heart attacks faster has conducted nearly 58 lakh ECGs and flagged more than 34,000 critical STEMI cases in the last seven years, highlighting the scale of the cardiac disease burden in the state. At the same time, a three-year analysis of 2,657 cardiac procedures at SevenHills Reliance Foundation Hospital, a public-private partnership with the BMC, in Andheri found that nearly one in four patients undergoing procedures was below 50. BMC data show that an average of 27 people died of heart attack every day in the city. Maharashtra launched its STEMI programme in 2020 using a hub-and-spoke model.
“ECGs performed at government health facilities can be analysed remotely by specialists within about four minutes,” said a state health department official. Patients diagnosed with a heart attack are given clot-busting treatment at the spoke facility before being referred to a hub for angiography and angioplasty, he said. State health minister Prakash Abitkar has said that the expansion was aimed at taking faster cardiac diagnosis and treatment closer to patients, particularly outside major cities. Cardiologist Dr Ganesh Manudhane said coronary disease requiring investigation or treatment was increasingly being seen among people in their 40s and even younger. Diabetes, hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity and family history can raise cardiovascular risk, he said.
To provide cardiac treatment, the state has roped in medical colleges, private hospitals and charitable hospitals with cardiac catheterisation laboratories that are empanelled under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana as hubs. Eligible patients can receive treatment under the scheme free of cost. The findings, released around World Heart Day on Tuesday, point to two challenges: detecting heart attacks quickly and recognising serious cardiovascular disease at a younger age.
