Heart attack patient treated at doorstep under Mission Delhi initiative

A 52-year-old man who suffered a heart attack on Wednesday was treated with clot-busting thrombolysis procedure on his doorstep by a team of paramedics under the 'Mission Delhi' initiative.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) claimed that this is the first time that clot buster medicine was administered on a heart attack patient at doorstep before reaching hospital.

Thrombolytic therapy is the injection of a medication that breaks up a blood clot and can be injected with a needle into a vein.

The treatment was provided Under 'Mission DELHI' (Delhi Emergency Life Heart-Attack Initiative), in which a pair of motorcycle-borne trained paramedic nurses are the first responders for treating heart attack patients to those living within a 5-km radius of the AIIMS.

The joint initiative of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was launched in April last year.

According to ICMR, the Mission Delhi's emergency response room at AIIMS received an emergency call from CRPF camp in RK Puram at around 10.40 am.

Immediately, its first responders equipped with hi-tech gadgets and lifesaving drugs on their bike ambulance were dispatched to the spot.

It took them around ten minutes to reach the spot as their bike manoeuvred through Delhi's busy traffic. They immediately attended the patient who was having severe chest discomfort.

The ECG was transmitted to the doctor at a control room and senior cardiologist at AIIMS.

Within minutes, heart attack was diagnosed and instructions for the administration of clot buster therapy after taking all precautions was conveyed to the first responders.

Meanwhile, the patient was already given the first aid and preliminary drugs, an ICMR official said.

"The patient was given clot buster drug (injections)for immediate relief and was transferred to AIIMS emergency by ambulance for further management. Later on, investigations revealed that his blood vessel to the heart has opened up successfully because of the timely treatment.

"This isthe first time in Indiathat clot buster medicine was administered on a heart attack patient at doorstep before reaching hospital," the official said.

The earlier clot-busting drug is given, the less likely an individual is to die or have disabilities.

On receiving a call at Mission Delhi's toll-free emergency helpline numbers (1800111044 and 14430), the mobile medical nurse team is dispatched immediately for examining the patient, providing necessary medication/CPR, transmitting ECG to consultant at AIIMS.

While the emergency treatment is being provided, a CATS ambulance arrives to take the patient for further treatment.

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

The ICMR has signed a memorandum with CATS (Centralized Ambulance Trauma Services) for this project.

The administration of this therapy before reaching hospital could be an effective intervention that may save time and reduce death and disability in those with heart attacks.

Doorstep treatment of heart attack with clot buster drug has been tested successfully in developed countries where logistics are less of an issue, doctors said.

"However, in a country like ours, where logistics such as distance, traffic, availability of expert doctors and infrastructure is an issue, this strategy has potential to save lives of thousands of heart attack patients," a doctor at AIIMS said.