Ensuring Healthy Heartbeats!

With increasing lifestyle problems, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) have emerged as a leading cause of mortality worldwide followed by cancer. Studies have estimated that Cardiovascular Diseases will account for one-third of all deaths in India by 2020. 

Who is at a higher risk?

A recent Delhi and NCR survey showed that most patients suffering from heart diseases fall in the age group of 25 and 45. Around 38% of men in this age group have alarmingly high cholesterol, which is one of the key risk factors for heart disease. Such alarming statistics cannot be dismissed as collateral due to lack of awareness. Surprisingly, people as young as 18-19 years of age have been reported with cases of cardiac arrest and heart attack.

A recent survey conducted by Max Healthcare, close to 100% respondents of Delhi-NCR were aware of the repercussions of obesity on their heart. Unfortunately, despite increasing awareness, the situation has only continued to grow graver.

With each passing year, heart failure cases also witness an alarming increase. Heart failure, which is the 'end-stage' of most of the heart diseases, has emerged as a major health problem in India. The incidence of Heart failure and heart rhythm problems is a rising trend in India yet there is a large population still unaware of the symptoms, precautions and first-aid that should be provided to heart failure patients. The best way to treat such patients is through medical management, assisted devices and finally a heart transplant.

What is a Heart Failure Program?

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's need(s). In some cases, the heart can't pump enough blood. In other cases, the heart can't pump blood to the rest of the body with enough force. Some people have both problems. It is a serious condition that requires medical care. Heart failure develops over a period of time as the heart's pumping action grows weaker. The condition can affect the right side of the heart only, or it can affect both sides of the heart. Most cases involve both sides of the heart.

A Heart failure program is for patients who are suffering from heart failure and are in need of heart transplant and ventricular assist device. Mostly, the term 'heart failure' is misunderstood that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. According to an estimate, the incidence of heart failure in India is about 10 to 20/ 1000 people over the age of 65 years. The growing incidence is a result of multiple factors including increased prevalence of coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and rheumatic heart disease. 

Heart Failure Program at Max Healthcare

Addressing the burden of increasing mortalities due to CVDs and heart failure, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket experts have been focused on providing seamless and advanced cardiac treatment options to the patients via our 'Comprehensive Heart Failure Programme'. It includes best-in-class cardiac services, LVAD, ECMO and Heart Transplant.

Heart failure program introduced at Max Healthcare is for patients who are suffering from heart failure and are in need of heart transplant and ventricular assist device. Once medical therapy is deemed failing or patients, who have already undergone the cardiac procedure and are still symptomatic, will benefit from cardiac replacement therapies like a heart transplant or ventricular assist device.

Unfortunately, thousands of patients lose their life to a lack of heart donation every year. For them, LVAD is the only alternative that offers a ray of hope. LVAD is placed in one of the chambers of the heart in the patient's chest and helps the heart pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. In the case of end-stage heart failure when a person's heart is too weak to effectively pump on its own or has undergone an open-heart surgery, it can neither wait for a donor nor does an artificial heart; LVAD comes as a positive ray of hope to pull the patient from the jaws of death. But LVAD is an advanced procedure that needs special training for putting it and taking care of patient afterwards. Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket has successfully performed 9 LVAD procedures in the past year. We have high-end technology machines like CentriMag to save the life in acute heart failure. We have done India's first HeartMate 3 recently, which is the most advanced LVAD pump so far.

ECMO

When patients reach a stage when either the lungs and/or heart are damaged to a life-threatening state, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is used to rescue them. It is used as a highly advanced cardiovascular support system in the intensive care units (ICU) in potentially irreversible cases. With severe heart failure, it is recommended to use this device to provide oxygen to the body. When blood is removed from the body, it passes through a special membrane in the ECMO machine that removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen to the blood. The newly oxygenated blood is then returned to the body. The ECMO machine takes over the work of the heart. This treatment is used to allow the heart to recover. Max Healthcare has successfully used ECMO on 48 patients in the past 2 years.

Ventricular Assist Device

A heart transplant is the gold standard treatment for end stage heart failure. Our hospital's cardiac surgery program has brought unprecedented access to advanced cardiac services to the region and has received exemplary reviews and outstanding patient satisfaction since its inception. We have an Advanced Heart Failure Clinic for identifying patients who require LVAD or heart transplant to increase their survival and relieve symptoms. Considered one of the top programmes in the country, the cardiac care programme at Max Hospital, Saket consistently reaches 100% in patient satisfaction scores. This success relies on a dedicated team of surgeons, cardiologists, nurses and staff who work daily to care for our patients.