Hyderabad: Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, today announced the launch of ‘Heart Failure Clinic’, a dedicated Heart Failure Clinic at the hospital on the eve of World Heart Day.
According to doctors at Apollo Hospital, the reasons of heart failure could be damage to the heart muscle caused by coronary artery disease or too much strain on the heart because of years of untreated high blood pressure or an abnormal heart valve.
The typical symptoms of a heart failure are difficulty in breathing, chronic cough, swollen ankles, legs and abdomen, weight gain, frequent urination during night, loss of appetite, fatigue, weakness, rapid or irregular heartbeats, patients often experience a pounding sensation in the chest.
“The alarming rise in the incidence of heart failure especially amongst the younger population of our country needs to be curbed, as the overall consequences of it can be catastrophic. Educating the populace on the necessary lifestyle modifications is the way forward,” Dr A G K Gokhale, Consultant Cardiothoracic and Transplant Surgeon, told reporters.
India has to do a lot to reduce the burden of heart failure and also provide curative and rehabilitative services to these patients, which is a huge challenge, he said.
According to Dr Jayakeerthi Y Rao, consultant Heart Failure Specialist, “The estimated prevalence of heart failure in India is 4.85 million with five lakh patients adding on every year to this number.”
A dedicated heart failure clinic is the need of the hour to monitor and manage the condition effectively.
Apollo’s repository of knowledge in treating a large base heart failure patients and the tried and tested protocols in place, aid in reassuring the patients and improving their quality of life, Dr Jayakeerthi added.
The epidemics of diabetes, hypertension and Ischemic heart disease is giving rise to a steady increase in incidence of heart failures, he pointed out.
PTI