Goa govt to tie-up with NGO to treat cardiac emergencies

The Goa government's health department will tie-up with a 'not-for-profit' organisation to draw a protocol which it said will help reduce the number of deaths due to cardiac arrest in the state.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane today said the proposed partnership with the organisation, STEMI-India, will be first such initiative in the country.
"We are on the verge of doing something which is new in India. We will be introducing the protocol drawn by ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) India in our system to treat cardiac emergencies," Rane told reporters here.
He said the procedure has been recognised by the Indian Council for Medical Research and even the National Rural Health Mission wants to incorporate it in their programme.

The minister said state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), which is centrally located, will be the main point of contact for cardiac emergencies.
He said 108 ambulance services will sign a memorandum of understanding with STEMI India to provide required support to implement the protocol to deal with cardiac emergencies.

"Whenever any patient suffers cardiac emergency he would be thrombolysed at nearby primary health centre or community health centre (before contacting GMCH for further line of treatment)," he said.
Thrombolysis is often used as an emergency treatment to dissolve blood clots that form in arteries feeding the heart and brain -- the main cause of heart attacks.

The minister said the cardiac wing in the GMCH would be strengthened by appointing additional specialists.
The NGO was set up to review scientific literature, educate and train STEMI teams in hospitals, develop STEMI guidelines and systems of care approaches relevant to India.
STEMI is the most common type of heart attack which occurs when blood flow to a part of the heart stops, and the heart is damaged due to decrease in the oxygen supply.