CARDIOLOGY SERVICES CENTRE AT BANGALORE BAPTIST HOSPITAL

Bangalore Baptist Hospital one of the leading hospitals in North Bangalore inaugurated its cardiology centre on Friday, Sep 12. The cardiology centre aims to provide both invasive and non-invasive cardiology service. A catheterization lab is installed and the department will provide round the clock service to patients at its 202 bedded facility.

Chief guest Justice Santosh Hegde, Lokayukta, Karnataka expressed his happiness at the fact that Baptist Hospital had come forward to provide high quality cardiac care at affordable costs, when medicare costs were costs escalating day by day.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony Dr.Suranjan Bhattacharji, Director, CMC, Vellore said "According to the reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) about 60% of the world's cardiac patients will be from India by 2010. It would be the biggest killer disease affecting young Indians. With the opening of the cardiac centre we intend to provide the best of facilities and care to our patients with support from Christian Medical College, Vellore. We look forward to a long term partnership between our cardiology departments to provide quality service to all who come to this institution".

According to the WHO estimates in 2003, 16.7 million around the globe die of cardiovascular disease each year. This is over 29 % of all deaths globally. Since then this figure has been rising exponentially. By 2020 heart diseases and stroke will become the leading cause of death and disability world wide, with the number of fatalities projected to increase more than 20 million a year and to more than 24 million a year by the year 2030.

India is emerging as one of the epicenters of this near epidemic. In 1990 there were an estimated 1.17 million deaths from coronary vascular disease in India and the number is expected to cross 2.03 million by 2010. Between 2000-2030 about 35% of all coronary vascular disease deaths in India will occur among those who are aged between 35-64, compared with only 12% in the United States and 22% in China.
The huge burden of coronary vascular disease in the Indian subcontinent is the consequence of the large population and the high prevalence of CVD risk factors. India is experiencing an alarming increase in heart disease which seems to be linked to changes in life style and diet, rapid urbanization and possibly an underlying genetic component.

In developing countries as the CVD epidemic matures, the burden will shift to the lower socio economic groups. This is a group that is often forgotten as this technology intensive specialty focuses on more and more expensive therapies.

At the new project of Baptist Hospital, the main impetus is to provide excellent, holistic and affordable care to patients with CVD. A major focus will also be initiating programmes in prevention and control of this disease.

Using the latest treatment for dealing with patients who present with heart attack, the center will also cater to patients who require elective cardiac catheterisation, angiography, permanent pacemaker implantations, temporary pacing and balloon valvotomies. The service is headed by a full time cardiologist who is resident within the hospital premises. Other services offered are ECG, Treadmill testing, Echocardiography and 24 hour ambulatory ECG monitoring (Holter monitoring).

This service has been made possible partly due to a generous grant from one of the philanthropists who supports many programs at the Bangalore Baptist Hospital - Mr. Krishna Chivukula. He has funded the construction of the wing in which the cardiology department is housed.

The cardiology department at Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore has also played an active role in helping with design and equipping of this venture at Baptist Hospital. They will continue to be involved in supporting the services here with technical know-how and regular visits from senior cardiology colleagues to this department.

Some of the Achievements of Bangalore Baptist Hospital:
1,75,000 outpatients             c)   3800 surgeries
12,000 inpatients annually  d)   2700 deliveries annually