Addressing the gathering Dr. Vijay Dikshit said, the incidence of Coronary heart Disease is rapidly rising in India and our country has earned a dubious distinction of being called "The Capital of Heart Disease" in the world. Some of the important reasons attributed to this, is our diet, lifestyle, high incidence of diabetes and Tobacco use amongst others. The underlying problem in Coronary Heart Disease is the plaque building within the walls of coronary arteries which reduces the blood flow to heart muscles and leads to multiple problems including angina pain and Heart attack. Many misconceptions are prevalent among the people regarding the reasons for heart problems as well as how to recognize and treat the condition in time. Increased awareness and getting scientific information about the heart problems is a major step in controlling heart disease.
It is often believed that heart attack causes severe or excruciating pain in the chest whereas the fact is that severe Myocardial Infarction (MI) can either have no symptoms at all (silent MI) or can cause varying degree of discomfort in or around the chest. Similarly, benefits of ECG is over estimated and normal ECG is taken as a "certificate" for a normal heart. Truth is that the ECG is an excellent initial assessment for heart but has no value in predicting future cardiac events. Today variety of investigations or tests are available which can find out the detailed condition of heart and can also make reliable predictions of likely cardiac events in the future.
There has been tremendous development in the treatment of heart diseases in the past few decades, because of which a person can now lead a fully active and productive life even after having major heart problems, with the help of appropriate treatment provided in time. Blockages in Coronary arteries once detected can be cleared only by Balloon Angioplasty and Stent (also called Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or PCI) or by Coronary Bypass Surgery (CABG). Much doubt and controversies exist as to which among the two procedures is more appropriate for a patient. Decision regarding the selection of treatment is taken after considering multiple factors in every patient.
At Apollo Hospital Hyderabad more than 20,000 PCI procedures and over 12000 CABG surgeries have been performed in the past 20 years. As the incidence of Coronary disease is on the rise, the number of these procedures are also increasing every year. Many new devices and surgical techniques are introduced from time to time. Minimally Invasive Coronary Bypass Surgery, Robotic Cardiac Surgery are some of the recent Surgical developments in Apollo Hospitals.
The correct and detailed information about the heart diseases will help replacing many Myths with scientific facts. This will go a long way in preventing many heart diseases and also help in taking proper treatment at the right time. Only then the ever increasing menace of Coronary Heart Disease can be controlled in our country.
