Hyderabad Live to focus on acute heart attacks

The Twin cities' cardiologists under the banner of “Hyderabad Live” are organising a two day academically significant Interventional cardiology meet on July9 and 10 at Hotel Park Hyatt, Hyderabad. Renowned Interventional Cardiologists from the City, Dr K Sarat Chandra, Chief Cardiologist, Indo US Hospital and Dr Sridhar Kasturi, Chief Interventional Cardiologist, Sun Shine Hospital, briefing media about the conference said, Hyderabad Live will lay special emphasis on the hotly debated topic amongst the Interventional Cardiologists world over 'Acute Heart Attacks.'

Acute Heart Attack, known as STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) is a full blown heart attack resulting in death of a portion of the heart muscle. This happens due to complete blockage of the artery leading to stoppage of blood flow to the heart muscle. Dr Sarat Chandra said that a patient with STEMI needs prompt treatment and every minute makes a difference for such patients.

He said,"Time is Muscle and Muscle is Life," in an episode of heart attack. A STEMI in addition to pain and distress for the patient, can cause sudden death from acute heart failure or abnormal heart beating. Often the patient with STEMI may not make it to hospital due to sudden death. Therefore for STEMI cases’ quickly unblocking the coronary artery is highly critical and every minute counts in doing this.

He said that primary angioplasty which is the ideal treatment for the patient of heart attack is still not popular enough in India as it should be. Another major concern in big cities is the heavy traffic which can delay the patient reaching the hospital, where angioplasty can be performed. A way out of this is pharmaco-invasive therapy which is a combination of thrombolysis first and angioplasty later.

Administering the Pharmaco-invasive therapy can begin in the ambulance itself when the patient is transiting to the hospital, this way the damage to heart muscles can be minimised. Dr Chandra said, this conference will aid in ironing out and minimising difference in opinion and treatment approach for a similar medical condition.

Dr Sridhar Kasturi said that if there is delay in treatment, it can at times be fatal. He said that the awareness in our society of what is a dangerous chest pain and what is not a dangerous pain is inadequate. Often patients attribute pain chest to acidity and ignore it. It is quite common to see even today patients delaying the consultation by almost 12 to 24 hours thus missing important time for treatment.

He recommended that any pain above the level of waist should be subjected to ECG and consultation by a physician. Sometimes first ECG can be normal and patient may go home only later to develop more clear ECG changes. He stressed the importance of cardiac enzymes. He said Indians are prone to heart attack at a young age due to genetic reasons, the incidence is high in South Indians than North Indians, diabetes one of the causes of heart problems is as high as 22 per cent amongst South India against 11 per cent among North Indians.

The high level of deliberations expected at the Hyderabad Live, is being eagerly awaited by the Interventional Cardiologists community and over 500 delegates from all over India will be attending the Conference. International faculty comprises of who's who in the field including Dr Sameer Mehta one of the leading thought leaders in this field from the USA.

The other international faculties are Dr Ramesh Daggubati, Co-Director, East Carolina Heart Institute USA, Dr Matheen Khuddus, Medical Director, Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Florida, USA and Dr Srihari S Naidu, Director, Cathlab, SUNY- Stony Brook School of Medicine, New York, USA. A total of eight live cases will be showcased from various hospitals in the twin cities including Indo-Us Hospital, Sun Shine Hospital, Prime Hospital and Yashoda Hospital during the conference.

Some of the significant topics being discussed are How soon should an ACS case be taken to cathlab; Route for STEMI - Radial or Femoral?, Complications in STEMI; STEMI in a patient with recent stroke; National STEMI Registry; Imaging guided STEMI Interventions; Novel devices in STEMI; Newer stents in STEMI, will ensure an intellectual treat for the delegates.