Mangaluru: KMC Hospitals in the city and Kasturba Hospital Manipal in a bid to offer an array of exclusive and dedicated cardiac facilities to heart patients recently launched ‘Heart Failure clinic’.

This initiative is a new endeavor to optimize care for heart failure patients and will offer comprehensive heart care every Wednesday between 1.30 pm – 4.30 pm at the Cardiology Dept of the Hospital.

This first of its kind clinic will offer a 360 degree care with multiple people to support patients:
• Team will consist of cardiologist, electrophysiologist, cardiac surgeon, nutritionist and a physiotherapist who will evaluate patients during the initial visit to optimize treatment and to chart out a plan for further management
• A dedicated physiotherapist will help patients recuperating from recent worsening of heart failure get back on their feet
• Patient/caretaker education and training where the patient himself will participate to become his own caretaker. With a belief that simple monitoring tools when taught to the patient/ caretaker can be very useful in early detection of worsening and prevention of recurrent admissions for heart failure
• All patients enrolled in the clinic will get access to a coordinator who will guide them, advise them and help them schedule appointments with their doctors.

Dr Maneesh Rai, Interventional Cardiologist and Cardiac Electrophysiologist, KMC Hospital said, “The heart commonly ‘fails’ because blood supply to its muscle is inadequate (Coronary Artery Disease). This most often occurs after a heart attack, a condition where one the three blood vessels supplying the heart gets choked by cholesterol and blood clot for a few hours, which ends up permanently damaging a portion of the heart muscle.The heart may fail even without a heart attack.

“Heart failure is a major concern in India. It is estimated that there are around 8-10 million patients with heart failure in India with a prevalence of about 1% of the adult population. Indians with heart failure tend to be younger, sicker and have a slightly worse outcome compared to their western counterparts. Apart from coronary artery disease, many usual causes of heart failure are seen in Indians. Some of these causes may be reversible if detected early and treated properly.”

Speaking on the occasion, Saghir Siddiqui, regional COO, KMC Hospitals Mangaluru said, “We are happy to bring this new initiative to the city of Mangaluru. Today owing to a sedentary lifestyle, people of all age groups are undergoing cardiac issues. Heart failure clinic is our attempt of getting organized to improve care of heart failure patients. This concept is quite popular in western countries and has made a remarkable difference and improved the quality of life and survival for heart patients. Unfortunately, this is not the case in India. Lack of awareness, poor compliance to medical therapy and costs of therapy are mammoth challenges that prevent the treating doctor from doing their best to patients. This will be a boon to people who need special care and attention for their heart and I am confident that our expert doctors and world class technology will ensure best healthcare services to its patrons.”

Speaking on the launch Dr Padmanabha Kamath, HOD of Cardiology, KMC Hospitals said, “Heart failure symptoms include shortness of breath, particularly while lying down, and swelling of feet, ankles and legs. This clinic would serve as a centre of excellence for the clinical management of heart failure. The main causes of heart failure are blockages in the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart resulting in heart attacks and weakening of heart muscle. The traditional risk factors for HF are hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, all of which are in increasing abundance in India.”