AiMS & Philips Healthcare open first Chest Pain Clinics in Pune

Plans to take this model pan-India

(AiMS) Hospital and Research Centre and Philips Healthcare today announced the launch of India’s first “Chest Pain Clinics” in the Pune district.

To be operated under the “hub and spoke” model, this initiative will include four “spoke” hospitals (Chest Pain Clinics), one “hub” hospital (AiMS) and will reach out to approximately 9.5 million people.

Each Chest Pain Clinic will be a clinic or a small healthcare facility equipped with Philips ECG-100 systems which will wirelessly transmit ECGs of patients in real time from the “spokes” (Chest Pain Clinics) to the “hub” (AiMS). Once a patient is confirmed as suffering from a Myocardial Infarction, known as a Heart Attack, he/she is immediately transported via an ambulance from the Chest Pain Clinic to AiMS, for primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) within the golden hour.  Also, Philips Healthcare will support AiMS in training staff, recording and storing all ECG related data, developing protocols and periodic review of data.

 While cardiovascular diseases have quadrupled in the last 40 years, 50 per cent of the affected patients arrive too late for appropriate treatment. If the patient receives treatment within one hour of the attack- called ‘the golden hour’, possibilities of saving his/her life increase manifold. The Chest Pain Clinics are aimed at enabling small hospitals and nursing homes to provide timely and quality, ”Emergency Cardiac Care” and thus save lives.

“In a situation where 50 per cent of patients arrive too late for appropriate treatment, we are proud to partner with AiMS in an initiative which will ensure rapid access to emergency critical care in the Pune district of Maharashtra. We are talking to various hospitals & aim to take it across cities in India,” said Shankar S, Sr. Director- Philips Healthcare.

"To combat Coronary Artery diseases and reduce mortality rates, we need a combination of medical interventions and general awareness. It is here that Chest Pain Clinics will play a key role in creating an eco-system which brings together cardiologists, emergency medicine and cardiac health professionals to enhance patient care by reducing time to treatment for patients suffering from cardiac ailments" said Dr.Shirish (M.S) Hiremath, Director of Cardiac Cath Lab Ruby Hall & Chairman of AiMS, Pune.