'One per cent of India's population is affected by congenital cardiac diseases'

AMARAVATI: Noted pediatric cardiologist Dr K Siva Kumar has said that about 1% of the population in India is affected by the congenital and structural cardiac diseases that make their life sub optimal. He, however, said that adoption of latest procedures like interventional approach by a catheter from the groin area has helped the cardiologists handle the critical surgeries with precision unlike in the past.


He said that the previously followed open heart approach was not only critical but results used to be unreliable. Dr Siva Kumar attended a novel interventional cardiac workshop at

DVC

Hospitals & Research Center, Vadlamudi near here on Tuesday and took up eight cases for treatment.

Dr Kumar

, who heads the department of pediatric cardiology at Madras Medical Mission, Chennai is one of the finest pediatric cardiologists in the country. The workshop was jointly organized by DVC hospitals and Ayush hospitals of Vijayawada.

Speaking to the media, Dr Siva Kumar said that through interventional procedures they were able to place corrective devices into the heart to close the defects with precision. He said that such an approach to treat cardiac defects had also helped patients recover fast and minimized their hospital stay. All the eight patients treated at DVC hospitals on Tuesday are due for discharge on Thursday. Dr Siva Kumar said that he was surprised to see DVC hospital with ultramodern facilities in the rural area and wished it would be one of the state’s best hospitals in the days to come.

Medical director, DVC hospitals,

Dr Ch Srinivas

said that the DVC management was instrumental in bringing affordable treatments to the rural public and being able to conduct such advanced workshops in such a young institution should be appreciated. Chairman of Sangam dairy and DVC trust,

Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar

said that they were committed to serving the people. Narendra Kumar, a former legislator, said that bringing the most advanced treatments within the reach of rural and under-privileged people was the motto of DVC hospitals. Dr P Raghu Ram,

Dr P Sudarsan

, Dr Ram Kishore participated in the workshop. MD of the hospital group, Dhulipalla Jyotirmayee, COO Dr Naveen Karanam, Dr Veera Vyshnavi and medical superintendent

Dr Amarendra

were also present.