SVIMS to initiate 3-pronged plan to combat cardiac diseases

Tirupati: Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) has been moving forward with comprehensive plan in combating cardiac problems. While in the first two steps, it has been striving to make the district cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) smart by training citizens on the process of doing CPR.

In the final step, the SVIMS has to go further down the line to school students with the help of district authorities. Having fixed a target of 4-5 lakh people for providing training in CPR, it has completed training for more than 60,000 people so far.

The programme basically meant to create society of healthy hearts, taking it to the community level by engaging schools, colleges, industries in addition to the public. Earlier this week, they have trained about 100 police personnel for two days on CPR and first aid. By taking 50-100 mannequins, to the field-level training was being provided practically.

In the next stage, technicians and nurses in different hospitals will be trained on doing 'Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) programme with a view to ensure efficient safe transport of cardiac arrest victims from the scene of accident or other places to any of the best and closest hospital safely in the next few minutes. The third part is even more crucial for the society and requires the Institute to work with District Collector, DEO and DM&HO.

Explaining the initiative further, the Director cum Vice Chancellor Dr TS Ravikumar has said that it is preventive cardiology which prevents the disease in population–both in adults and children.

Speaking to The Hans India, he explained that for adults, camps will be held to enumerate all heart problems, blood pressure, obesity, kidney disease, diabetes etc., School children of 11-16 years of age are to be screened and collect the data relating to all metabolic features along with family history to estimate and educate whether they are in risk. Such students will be put in risk category for screening.

"Since it's a community health initiative, the proposal will be taken to the Collector for his directions to Education department and District Medical and Health department. Already, government has been doing this work and we will fill the gaps", Dr Ravikumar averred.

SVIMS has a student strength of over 2,000 in all courses and each student may be entrusted to screen 100-200 students in the year. "With this we can find at least 0.5 to 1 per cent, who are having high BP or diabetes without knowing and start early treatment so that they can be more careful after 30-35 years of age.

If they are not in risk group they will be encouraged, track and follow them and see them to maintain healthy habits towards bringing a heartfulness society", he explained. The children will be put into three groups – no risk, moderate risk (having 2-3 risk factors) and high risk.

This process will be done in anonymous way and categorise them with the help of school and health authorities and guidance will be provided. SVIMS will also maintain an anonymous registry for which Ventek solutions will give some support in analysing the data.