30% Rise in Cardiovascular Diseases Over the Last Three Years in Kerala

Kerala records about 9,000 primary angioplasties last year indicating a higher incidence of acute heart attack in the state.Overall, 31,381 angioplasties were performed in the 85 catheterization laboratory (cathlab) centers in the State in 2014. The figures indicate a jump of about 30 percent in cardiovascular diseases over the last three years, said Vinod Thomas, secretary of the annual conference conducted by the Interventional Cardiology Council of Kerala (ICCK).

“Besides the increasing incidence of heart attack, the number of cases attended at various cathlabs has gone up owing to access to healthcare, particularly cathlab centers. The number of primary angioplasties has been rising by 10-15 percent every year. In 2013, there were about 8000 cases," said Dr. Thomas.

A trial run has been initiated by ICCK for the registry of primary angioplasties involving 15 hospitals in the state that includes government medical colleges and private centers. It envisages all cathlabs to be part of the registry too.

P.P. Mohanan, the outgoing president of ICCK, told, “the registry has only made a beginning. It would mean more work for cardiologists to make documentation too, but at the end of the process, it will help identify the gaps in cardiac care, whether patients are able to reach cardiac care centers on time and the various other challenges of the disease.”

Primary angioplasties are done within 30 minutes from the time of arrival of the patients with fully blocked arteries in to the hospitals. It could be fatal, if proper intervention is not done immediately. There had been no systematic collection of data so far in the national level. It is estimated that nearly 2.5 lakh people had been treated at various interventional cardiology centers across the country.

Source-Medindia