As you all know I am an Orthopaedic Surgeon dealing with diseases of the skeleton and injuries to it. It did not take me long to realize that patients do not approach me only with problems of the bone. We require constantly the expertise of the heart specialists prior to and after surgery.Besides this, many instances of sudden heart problems among my friends and relatives made me realize that we should have a separate and dedicated Centre for Heart ailments.ln the early hours of the morning my friend’s wife rang me up, worried, saying that her husband had been rolling in bed with a vague pain for most part of the night. Suspecting a heart attack, I instructed her to move his shoulder and see whether he found that painful. When she answered in the affirmative, my fears were confirmed and I not only alerted the ambulance, but drove myself over (which was fortunate, as my friend, feeling much better, was hesitating to get into the ambulance).

When we reached MIOT, we found he had had a heart attack and in the next few minutes we did angioplasty; stenting the vessel and saving him from any damage to the heart.

2 years back, on a Sunday morning, another close friend’s son, who was a fitness freak was cycling down the Bangalore highway. There was a truck in front of him and he cycled hard to overtake it. He developed sudden palpitations and was brought to the hospital in distress. When we examined him, his heartbeat was 200 when a normal person’s heartbeat is between 60-100! Later we found out he had a family history of palpitations, known as Arrythmiawhich can be fatal. It happens because of a malfunction in the special cells which conduct electrical signals between the upper right chamber to the lower chambers of the heart. At that time he recovered with rest and medication. Today he would be permanently treated using Radio Frequency Catheter Ablation. These instances made me realize that heart patients should not be mixed with the rest of the patients in the hospital and that they require a separate unit where they can be examined, investigated in detail and treated quickly, avoiding permanent damage.

This led to the birth of MIOT Heart Revive Center. It has an emergency heart care unit where patients with chest pain will be investigated extensively and looked after, by highly qualified and experienced Doctors on a 24 hour basis. Patients a critical block in the heart vessels can be saved by offering them angioplasty or CABG on an emergency basis. Patients with arrhythmia or slow heartbeats can have permanent solutions at our Electro Physiology Lab without any waste of time. In this instance I would like to give you an example- Another friend who had been having mild chest pain was going to a Physician for months, without realizing that there was a block in his heart vessel. By the time it was discovered, the heart muscles had already been extensively and irreversibly damaged (cardiomyeopathy). At a young age of 55 years he resigned from his position, led a sedentary life and passed away.So, it is very important, that if you have chest pain or discomfort you reach the hospital within the golden hour and we promise that you will be looked after by Highly Qualified Specialists of extensive experience, any time of the day or night.

PROF. DR. P.V.A MOHANDAS

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