Care on wheels
MORE than 15 per cent of the deaths caused by heart attacks are due to delayed medical treatment. Now, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi, has launched 'Mission Save Heart' in order to provide prompt treatment to the patient within the golden hour, which is the hour of the occurrence of the heart attack. A mobile coronary care unit (mccu) equipped with modern technology was. also launched. Experts in the mccus will take proper care of the patient until he is brought to the hospital where a team of doctors will assess the patient's condition and prescribe necessary treatment.
Another revolutionary concept that brings tele-medicine to India is the beeper. An easy-to-use instrument, the beeper records the heart beats, which can then be transmitted over the telephone. In this manner, an ECG can be conducted over the phone and if the irregularities are serious, the patient can be advised to make it to the hospital immediately or an ambulance can be sent to fetch him. in this case again the patient can make it within the golden hour.