Mission Delhi now will cover 78 sq kms area: Call 14430

Mission Delhi now will cover 78 sq kms area: Call 14430

Dr KK Aggarwal, President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA. Recipient of Padma Shri

Easy way to remember the number: do not gather around (Section 144 of IPC) any victim of more than 30 years with suspected heart attack call 14430)

Mission Delhi Is a successful ICMR-AIIMS pilot to provide care to acute STEMI Heart Attack patients. It was Launched on 25th April 2019 and now covers 78 sq kms area around AIIMS covering a population of 20-25 lakhs in the National capital.

Under 'Mission DELHI' ((Delhi Emergency Life Heart-Attack Initiative) an emergency medical service, as part of which a motorbike-borne assistance unit can be quickly summoned for a person suffering heart attack or chest pain.

On getting a call, the pair would rush to the spot, gather basic information on the patient's medical history, conduct a quick medical examination, take the ECG, and establish a virtual connect with the cardiologists at AIIMS and deliver expert medical advice and treatment. While the emergency treatment is being provided, a CATS ambulance will arrive and take the patient for further treatment.

Even as the patient is on way to the hospital, doctors at AIIMS control centre will evaluate the data received from the nurses to establish further course of treatment.

Motorcycle ambulances can reach people in narrow lanes in congested areas.

The attempt is to reach patients within 10 minutes.

It is important to remove the clot that is stopping the blood flow. If the heart walls are damaged, they cannot be repaired. Clot busters are almost equal to angioplasty. In this project, the clot buster will be given very soon even at home.

Toll Free Emergency Helpline numbers are 1800111044 and 14430

The project must be started all over India and in Asian countries. It so far as helped only 44 cases means its still not in the mind of local doctors and the other healthcare providers. It needs to be advertised fully. Also, the project must cover the cases of cardiac arrest also.

Women call ambulance for husbands with heart attacks but not for themselves

We must take care of all women in our families

“Women call an ambulance for husbands, fathers and brothers with heart attack symptoms but not for themselves”. Two studies from the Polish Registry of Acute Coronary Syndromes (PL-ACS) presented recently at Acute Cardiovascular Care 2019,
a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress highlight this very crucial point.

The studies included more than 7000 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Overall, 45% of patients were found to be treated within the recommended timeframe (within 90 min of diagnosis by ECG); fewer women than men received timely treatment. Male gender remained an independent predictor of treatment within the recommended timeframe even after adjusting for factors that could influence the relationship.

Those who received prompt treatment were less likely to have a left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) below 40%.

ECG results were transmitted from the ambulance to a heart attack center in about 40% of patients. In women, the likelihood of ECG transfer rose with increasing age – from 34% in women aged 54 years and under to 45% in those aged 75 and above. This means that ECG results for younger women were less often sent to the hospital. On the other hand, the rate of transfer of ECG results to the hospital in men was around 40% regardless of age.

Heart disease has generally never been thought to be a woman’s disease.  But, heart disease is the number one cause of death in women. Despite this, women do not get diagnosed timely or take treatment timely.

When a woman complains of symptoms such as breathlessness, it is passed off, quite often by themselves, as anxiety or a panic attack.

This is because traditionally, women are the “nurturers” and “caregivers” and so tend to put the health and well-being of their family ahead of their own needs. They form the backbone of the family, which holds the family together. Therefore, women should receive equal attention and care as do the men in their families.

It is very important to spread awareness on the fact that women too are prone to serious health problems, which if diagnosed and treated at the right time can help in preventing further complications. 

Heart attacks do occur in women, even young women. It is important to remember that women are more likely to have atypical signs and symptoms, which may be the reason for the delay in calling for medical help. Women are more likely to have pain in the jaw, neck or back (between the shoulder blades), unexplained weakness, shortness of breath, cough, dizziness or nausea.

Today is International Women’s Day. The theme for International Women’s Day this year is “#BalanceforBetter”, which is a call-to-action for driving gender balance across the world.

The day drives home the message that we must take care of all women in our families, their health and well-being, even if they don’t do it themselves.

Dr KK Aggarwal

Padma Shri Awardee

President Elect Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania   (CMAAO)

Group Editor-in-Chief IJCP Publications

President Heart Care Foundation of India

Past National President IMA