Fortis Malar, Chennai launches centre for heart failure treatment and transplant

Fortis has set up a comprehensive centre for heart failure and heart transplant, at the Fortis Malar Hospital, in Chennai. The speciality centre issupported by an experienced team of leading cardiac experts. It reportedly offers comprehensive heart failure, heart transplant and artificial heart programme with extensive options for treatment and management of congestive heart failure.

Inaugurating the centre, Aditya Vij, CEO, Fortis Healthcare and Chairman, Fortis Malar Hospitals said, “Advances in medicine have made heart transplants safer and a real option in managing cases of end stage heart failure. Cardiac care at Fortis Malar is well established and ranked amongst the finest in the country. Our team of highly accomplished doctors led by Dr Balakrishnan and Dr Rao have done pioneering work in the field and have performed the largest number of successful heart transplants in the country. We are therefore pleased to institutionalise the programme bysetting up a specialised Fortis Centre for Heart Failure and Transplant at the facility. I am sure the Centre will benefit many of our patients who will no longer have to seek treatment abroad for treatment of heart failure.”

Dr KR Balakrishnan, Director, Cardiac Sciences, Fortis Centre for Heart Failure and Transplant, at Fortis Malar said, “The majority of patients who can benefit from our advanced therapy are not aware of the facilities available in India. Moreover, in Tamil Nadu alone, each year, 100-150 organ donors are available but the heart transplants carried out are around 20. Our goal is to provide the highest quality of patient-centered care to many more patients, right here in India, utilising our interdisciplinary approach, enormous talent and the multi-skilled resources within our team.”

The Fortis Centre for Heart Failure Management and Heart Transplant is set up as a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Destination Therapy Center, a bridge to a transplant in case it is required later.

The heart disease management programme also includes preventive measures to avoid heart failure, cardiopulmonary testing including peak oxygen consumption measurement, ECMO (lung heart machine) as a bridge to a transplant or a bridge to a decision and nutritional counselling. In addition, patients learn to recognise fluid retention, that signals heart failure. They are counselled on aspects of cardiac rehabilitation and individualised exercise plans are drawn up for them to strengthen their heart muscle, improve blood circulation and support the recovery process.

EH News Bureau