Is There Any Effective First-Aid for Heart Attack?

 There is no first-aid for heart attack. Patients need to be rushed to the hospital at the first suspicion of an attack. This is very important as the first three hours following the onset of an attack are called the golden hours. During these golden hours, if the patient is brought to the hospital and given proper treatment, even a massive heart attack can be reversed. Once this crucial period is past, the heart attack would have evolved, the muscles would have suffered damage and in spite of good treatment the desired result will not be possible.

In case of patients who have had a previous attack, the doctors give them a tablet called Sorbitrate for emergencies. If in spite of this tablet the pain persists, the patient has to be rushed to the hospital. Self-medication is to be prevented at all costs. What is suitable for one patient might not be suitable for another, hence consulting a doctor would be the best option. 

Kauvery Heart City

A heart attack is a block (caused by a buildup of cholesterol) in the blood vessel going to the heart. Due to the block, the blood flow to the heart is reduced and as a result the lack of blood flow damages the heart muscles. The treatment for heart attack is to get the blood flowing to the heart again. The success of the treatment is dependent on treating the patient within the golden hours.

All the facilities found in hospitals across the world, be it London, Australia or New York, are all present in Kauvery Heart City. All types of angioplasty, 24-hour emergency services, latest stenting procedures, state of the art procedures to normalize BP, temporary pacemakers, etc. are all available here.

The Latest Technologies in Use at Kauvery Heart City

Kauvery Heart City is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency services. It is a 100-bedded exclusive cardiac hospital; out of the 100, 35 are critical care beds. There are also two cath labs here and they incorporate the latest in technology. The advantage of the cath lab here is that the radiation emission is very low and hence the safety of the doctors and patients both are assured. The cath labs are in vicinity to twin operating theatres so that any emergency care critical patients may need can be rendered immediately. Kauvery Heart City is also licensed to perform heart transplants. Other than this, bridge-to-transplant procedures like ECMO for supporting the heart for a period of 2 weeks, LVAD and BIVAD to support the heart for more than 2 weeks are all performed here. The availability of all the aforementioned facilities at the same place make Kauvery Heart City the best place for the treatment of heart ailments. 

Primary angioplasty is performed here; this procedure is performed only in 2-3 hospitals in India and Kauvery Heart City is one among them. It is not possible to perform angioplasty for all conditions, in such cases keeping stents at different valves is the preferred option and this is performed in Kauvery Heart City. Similarly, at the bifurcation of blood vessels too angioplasty is difficult to perform, but this is done at Kauvery Heart City. As the expertise and the technology needed for the treatment of hard and stone-like blocks is available here, this procedure too is performed.  

Cost-wise too Kauvery Heart City being located in a tier-2 city like Trichy offers an immense advantage over all tier-1 cities. A procedure performed at any other city would cost around 1 ½- 2 times more than what is offered here. Patients eligible for CM’s welfare scheme are also treated here.

A Heartwarming Story of Patient Revival

A 50-year-old man arrived at Kauvery Heart City complaining of chest pain for the past 4 hours. He was diagnosed with anterior valve myocardial infarction, a particularly complex heart attack. In addition to that, this patient had an added complication in the form of a hole in the heart wall. This hole was the result of the heart muscles having suffered damage due to the heart attack. As a result of this hole, the pure and impure blood mix. This condition is called ventricular septal rupture and emergency surgery is the only option. The patient was immediately shifted to the cath lab, an angiogram was done and the patient was shifted to the theatre for surgery.

The surgery was a very complex one as the heart muscles were severely damaged and suturing them was tough. In addition, surgery revealed that along with the inner wall being ruptured, the outer wall too had started to decompose. So, the heart was put on artificial support and a Teflon patch was placed to close the tear in the ventricle. This complex procedure needed a lot of expertise and skill. The surgery was performed successfully and the patient was observed for the critical period of the next 3 days. A team of 5-6 people worked round the clock to ensure successful recovery. The patient recovered well and on the seventh day was ready for discharge

The doctors were extremely happy that they were able to revive the man from the brink of death and restore him back to his family.

In the Future

As of now, there is no absolute way of preventing heart attacks. However, with advancement in research (stem cell therapy) it is to be hoped that a way to prevent heart attacks would emerge soon.

Doctors’ Request

The doctors at Kauvery Heart City request people not to follow forwarded messages on the phone blindly; it is folly to believe that heart attacks can be treated with unverified home remedies. They urge people to realize the importance of immediate treatment in a condition like a heart attack; the first 3 hours can make a world of difference to a patient’s life and hence swift treatment is of paramount importance!

Watch the doctors of Kauvery Heart City talk about the various advancements in the techniques and treatment of heart attack -