Cardiovascular Disease is currently the leading cause of death in India and its prevalence is projected to rise. In addition to an aging population, the skyrocketing incidence of Hypertension, Obesity and Diabetes all contribute to the staggering prevalence of about 4.6 million patients with heart failure in India. 30% of these patients die in hospital. 20% of hospital admissions is due to heart failure with a 44% readmission within 6 months of discharge. Heart failure patients have an extremely high mortality of 50% in 5 years. Mitral regurgitation is a major component, worsening outcomes in these patients. Now a revolutionary new device, a tiny clip called MitraClip, has been proven to dramatically improve outcomes in these patients.
On the 35th year of service in heart care, it was a privilege to announce that Apollo Hospitals Group, is among the selected few hospitals in India and the only hospital in Chennai which is accredited to perform the MitraClip procedure for these heart failure patients. Research has shown that benefit from this therapy is directly dependent on the skill and expertise of the operators performing the treatment and hence the stringent quality control and limited centers. Dr. Mathew Samuel Kalarickal, Director, Interventional Cardiology & Dr. Sai Satish, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals Chennai, will be initiating this therapy on the first few patients in the country in mid-November this year.
Apollo Hospitals have recently launched Comprehensive Training Centre for Trans Catheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) in the City. The centre was inaugurated by Ms. Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group. The prevalence of aortic stenosis increases sharply with age after the sixth decade and is expected to have a significant impact on the geriatric health care system of India, given the rapid increase in life expectancy in recent years. Severe Aortic Stenosis, once diagnosed has an astounding mortality of 90% in 4 years. Though TAVI has been around in the West for more than a decade, it has only been adopted in India since late 2015. Even now very few hospitals can perform this life saving procedure mainly due to lack of training. This specialized training centre is designed to provide benchmark training to cardiologists from across the country, aiming to benefit as many patients as possible. Dr. Peter Andreka, General Director, chief of Adult Cardiology, Gottsegen Gyorgy, Hungarian institute of Cardiology, who has implanted over a 1000 valves was also present on this ocassion. Dr. Andreka and his team will be instrumental in helping us structure this program.
Announcing the launch of the Trans Catheter valve training institute, Ms. Suneeta Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “The need of the hour is to have a robust scientific approach to identify the challenges in India in dealing with the patients affected with cardiac disease. This training centre would be an ideal platform to discuss, debate, and educate doctors in diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions with newer therapies.”
“Together we all are here working to strengthen India’s healthcare system to reach national and international goals, Apollo Hospitals has always been supportive in bringing world-class treatment options to India. This training institute will be a step towards culminating a permanent solution to the increasing cardiovascular Diseases in our country.”
