Mysuru, 9 July

Fears over rising incidents of sudden cardiac deaths have led to a significant spike in outpatient visits to Mysuru hospitals — but ironically, most are non-cardiac patients.

At Jayadeva Hospital alone, OPD footfall has gone up by 25 per cent recently. Over the past two weeks, heart health check-ups have shot up. A large number of people from Mysuru including neighbouring Hassan, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Madikeri arrived at the hospital for check-up in panic.

On Wednesday, police deployed personnel for crowd management, to maintain que system outside Jayadeva institute of Cardiovascular Science and Research Institute in Kumbarakoppal in Mysuru.        

However, experts are urging the public to avoid panic and seek rational medical advice.

District Health Officer Dr PC Kumaraswamy on Wednesday appealed to the public to not to panic over sudden cardiac deaths. 

He said that the State government has launched STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) scheme aimed at improving cardiac care for heart attack patients, particularly in rural areas, by ensuring rapid diagnosis and treatment within the crucial "golden hour". The program utilises a hub-and-spoke model, connecting tertiary hospitals with cath labs (hubs) to district and taluk hospitals (spokes) for timely intervention  

Under the scheme, the department has screened and conducted the ECG on 32,845 personnel suffering from heart, diabetes, and other related complaints at its hospitals. Out of them, it detected 221 heart patients and recommended treatment for 176 people at Jayadeva hospital in Mysuru. It also screened 13 lakh people suffering from diabetes, hypertension under the scheme in Mysuru district.

The DHO also said cases of dengue fever declined by 70 percent this year when compared to previous year in Mysuru district.

10-year-old dies of cardiac arrest during class in Gundlupet

A-ten-year-old boy studying in Class 4 died of cardiac arrest while attending the classes at government lower primary school at Kurubageri in Gundlupet town of Chamarajanagar district on Wednesday.  The deceased boy, Manjokumar, had been suffering from a heart disease. He developed chest pain and collapsed while attending class, according to teachers.