Jalandhar hospital performs 79 angiographies for free

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 20

As cardiovascular issues are common in patients, who recovered from Covid, multi-specialty NHS Hospital in collaboration with Rotary Club is offering free of cost angiography test to patients as a part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The campaign started on July 25 and within a period of three months, the hospital performed 79 free angiographies. Of these 16 patients underwent angioplasty at a concessional rate and some free under PM Ayushman Scheme.

Angioplasty, which involves insertion of a tube or a stent to widen blocked arteries, costs Rs1.5 lakh to Rs2 lakh in most private hospitals. It usually takes between 30 minutes and two hours, and one can usually go home the next day.

“In such unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic, people have suffered financial setback. Everybody is facing cash crunch. The risk of heart attacks due to thickening of blood post Covid has also increased. Most people are avoiding their health check-up due to paucity of funds. So, the hospital has decided to address the issue under its CSR initiative,” said Dr Shubhang Aggarwal, director, NHS Hospital.

“The fact is that patients, who recovered from Covid, have heart-related issues. Such patients do not have symptoms such as angina or chest pain. The virus infiltrates the body by binding to a type of receptor on cells called ACE2. These special receptors are found not only in kidney and lung cells, but also in the heart. We want to help the needy,” said Dr Sandeep Goel, director, NHS Hospital.

“ACE2 receptors are essentially docking sites for the virus. It’s also possible that the heart damage seen in coronavirus patients occurs secondary to the viral infection. It’s because the body is unable to deliver enough oxygen to organs as Covid hits lungs. The damage could also be the result of the virus’ effects on the blood, which can lead to formation of clots,” said Dr Kamaldeep Bansal, cardiologist, NHS Hospital.