The Hindu : Heart disease turns major killer

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Heart disease turns major killer

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM April 7. Coronary artery disease is emerging as a major cause of mortality with about 12 to 14 per cent of the population affected in urban areas and about 7 per cent in the rural area.

Coronary artery disease and modern interventional therapies were the highlights of the deliberations at the Trans Catheter Intervention 2003, a continuing medical education (CME) programme and workshop organised by the Department of Cardiology, Medical College Hospital here.

This is the third international workshop being organised by the department on the subject.

The incidence of coronary artery disease is higher in the State than in any other part of India, the professor and head of the Department of Cardiology, MCH, C. G. Bahuleyan, said.

If 10 years ago, the profile of those with coronary diseases belonged to those in the age group of 50 to 70, today more and more youngsters, especially working professionals, above 35 years are falling prey to the disease, he said.

Unlike before, many in the low socio economic strata are also being affected by coronary artery disease, Dr. Bahuleyan pointed out.

The workshop mainly discussed the modern medicines and interventional therapies for the management of coronary artery disease.

For the past 20 years, balloon angioplasty had been in use instead of surgery to open clogged arteries.

These days, coronary artery stenting, intra coronary radiation therapy (Brachy therapy) and laser applications are being widely used to treat clogged arteries.

However, while these procedures have been highly successful, the high incidence of `re-stenois' or re-clogging of arteries has been a major source of concern for the medical fraternity, Dr. Bahuleyan said.

`Drug eluting stent', a new procedure in use at the MCH since June last year has been found to be the perfect solution for the problem of re-stenois. This involves the use of stainless steel stents coated with polymers, which can take the drug locally into the region of the artery block, thus preventing re-clogging. The management of coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes was still a major challenge, speakers noted. The incidence of diabetes is high in both urban and rural areas in the State, it was pointed out.

About 25 per cent of those with coronary artery diseases here are also diabetic patients, which is higher than the statistics world over, doctors said. More than 40 per cent of those identified for intervention treatments — the high-risk group — have diabetes, which is a big medical challenge, it was pointed out.

Apart from panel discussions, four actual coronary intervention procedures performed in the Cath lab of the Medical College were relayed live for delegates at the Achutha Menon Centre auditorium. The procedures were carried out by experts at the MCH and Marc Silvestry of France, an international expert in coronary intervention.

About 200 delegates from various parts of the country and abroad took part in the workshop and CME, which was inaugurated by the Governor, Sikander Bakht, on Saturday evening.

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Heart disease turns major killer