Cardiology department at Madurai’s GRH yet to receive high-end equipment

The request for a high-end 4D echocardiography machine for the Cardiology Department at Government Rajaji Hospital is a long-pending demand which has not been realised even after four years. Further, it stated that one of the three echocardiogram machines, installed in 2008, at the Department was “nearing its end of life.” The number of complex interventional procedures, such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stenting, pacemaker implantation, coronary angiogram being performed in the department had also dramatically increased between 2014 and October 10, 2021, as per the data provided in response to the RTI. If the crucial life-saving machine is not available to patients, how will they treat emergency cases, especially those who come in at night,” Mr. Anand Raj said. The data provided by the Cardiology Department stated that out of 136 cases treated in September, only four were not covered under the scheme, out of which two emergency cases that came in at night received treatment of complex angioplasty and got covered under the scheme. Head of the Department S. Balasubramanian said, “there is a common misconception that stenting is the first treatment to a patient suffering from heart attack, but that is not the case every time.” “Through the Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative, PHCs are trained to provide thrombolytic therapy and primary angioplasty – an interventional procedure – hence emergency cases are tended to well before they reach GRH through referrals”, said G. Selvarani, department’s associate professor.