Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences has some hearty news for cardiac patients. It would soon offer treatment to poor patients at subsidised rates by installing a cardiac catheterisation laboratory.

Experts said the machine, popularly known as cath lab, could treat 50-60 per cent of heart ailments. Doctors said a cath lab is a must for angioplasty, while there are other machines for angiography and pacemaker implantation.

IGIMS director Arun Kumar said: “The institute would soon provide the cath lab facility to its patients. The machine has to be imported because it is not available in India. Its purchase and installation process would be completed within three months.” He added that the IGIMS could not carry out angioplasty in the absence of a cath lab. “At present, we only implant temporary pacemakers. A cath lab would help us implant permanent ones,” the director said.

Patients from the financially weaker section were happy to learn the news. “There should be more such cath labs at government hospitals so that poor patients do not suffer,” said Mahendra Singh, (45), a daily wager who went to the outpatient department of Indira Gandhi Institute of Cardiology (IGIC) on Monday.

IGIC is the only government hospital in the state at present that offers cath lab facilities. So, the IGIC sees a huge rush of patients who cannot afford to avail of this facility at costly private hospitals.

“Four cardiologists holding DM (doctoratus and medicinus) degree have been recruited to handle the cath lab. It cannot be handled by inefficient people,” said the IGIMS director.

Sources said the installation of the cardiac cath lab at the IGIMS would help curb the rush at the IGIC.

“Every month, we get around 300 cases of angiography and 40-50 cases of pacemaker implantation at IGIC. If IGIMS installs a cath lab, it would definitely lessen the load of patients from IGIC. As IGIMS is a semi-autonomous institution, it would definitely provide the facility at subsidised rate, helping attract poor patients. But all that might not be so easy. Poor patients have to run from pillar to post to arrange for funding from the state government to avail of the treatment at IGIC free of cost or at subsidised rates. If all this continues at IGIMS, poor people would hardly turn up for the facility and their health would suffer,” said a senior doctor of the IGIC on condition of anonymity.

According to experts, temporary pacemakers used in emergency have to be replaced with permanent ones in case of long-term heart rhythm problem. So the facility would be helpful for heart patients who have long-term heart rhythm problem.

“So far, such patients had to undergo temporary pacemaker transplant at the IGIMS and thereafter go to either IGIC or any other private hospital to get it replaced with a permanent pacemaker,” said a source.

Latest acquisition
Cardiac catheterisation laboratory (Cath lab)

TAKE HEART

Composition

A set of equipment, including monitors, injector pump, X-ray software and diagnostic catheters among others

Treats

Angioplasty, pacemaker implantation and angiography

Must for angioplasty

Advantage

For patients with long-term heart rhythm problem who have temporary pacemaker transplant at IGIMS but later have to go to either IGIC or other private hospital to get it
replaced with a permanent pacemaker