New facility for cardiac patients at Tiruchi GH

The K. A. P. Viswanatham Medical College has acquired Enhanced External Counter Pulsation (EECP) equipment for providing non-invasive treatment for patients with refractory cardiac failure.

Dean (in-charge) G. Anitha said that the equipment worth of Rs. 50 lakh has already been installed at the hospital. Patients, who were not responding well after the angioplasty, patients who were not fit for surgery and patients with triple vessel disease with refractory failure could go in for the non-invasive treatment.

The treatment did not require hospital admission. A patient should undergo the treatment for 35 days. The patient had to spend one hour daily in the hospital. The treatment would increase the supply of blood to the heart.

The benefits can be observed between 15 and 20 days of the treatment. Decreased external dyspnoea and decreased anginal episode were among the benefits.

The patient could feel better within three weeks of the treatment, she added.

Dr. Anitha said the treatment would be effective for three to five years after undertaking 35 days therapy, which would be offered at the hospital shortly.

The procedure has been covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/new-facility-for-cardiac-patients-at-tiruchi-gh/article19972066.ece