Timely Intervention Saves lives: ICMR shares record on Mission Delhi - STEMI Heart Attack project

New Delhi 15 cases have been attended under Mission Delhi programme in the last 79 days, a recent release by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research has informed.

Mission Delhi is the ICMR-AIIMS pilot initiative to provide care to STEMI Heart Attack patients. STEMI Heart attack is an acute, high risk, time-sensitive life-threatening disease. The management of STEMI heart attack patient requires treatment to be started within the golden hour (90 minutes) of the onset of symptoms and providing clot buster therapy to patient within 30 minutes of reaching the hospital. Delays in reaching hospital and initiation of clot buster therapy are the major causes of deaths in STEMI Heart Attack patients.

 One such patient treated by the staff under mission Delhi stated “Just rang up at 14:43 and within 10 minutes they were here in our Hauz Khas apartment with kits. We were all surprised and amazed with the prompt and wonderful service by the trained medical people at our house. We are very appreciative and thank those who thought of this initiative”

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. The pilot project caters to an area of approximately 30 sq km around AIIMS with a population of around 7 to 8 lakh.

‘Heart diseases are now the leading cause of death in the country. Ischemic Heart Disease and stroke contribute to greater than 80% of deaths due to heart diseases both in rural and urban areas. We need to save precious lives by increasing awareness regarding STEMI Heart Attack symptoms and reaching the patients at the earliest ‘says Dr Ramakrishnan, a leading cardiologist at AIIMS, New Delhi.

“The heart is like a motor that pumps blood to the entire body as well as to walls of heart through 3 pipes (coronary arteries). If any of these pipes is blocked by a blood clot, the heart tissue beyond that area dies. In the Initial hours, clot busters can restore the blood flow to the Heart and stop damage to heart tissue. If done within a stipulate time of 30 minutes, complete recovery is possible. Our motorcycle ambulance systems move easily through traffic jams and offer timely and quality care led by consultants at AIIMS to patients at their residence itself’ said Dr Praveen Aggarwal from Department of Emergency Medicine at AIIMS.

The project is planned to be scaled up to other parts of Delhi/country once the pilot study is completed.

Also read: STEMI programme for heart patients would cover entire Goa by Aug 15: Vishwajit Rane