Apollo heart unit for Siliguri

Siliguri, Oct. 28: The Apollo Group of Hospitals will set up a heart institute at five places across the state, including one in Siliguri.

One such institute already started functioning in Calcutta last month.

“Apart from Calcutta, we have chosen Siliguri, Asansol, Midnapore, Sreerampur and Howrah to set up Apollo Gleneagles Heart Institutes. The aim is to provide best cardiac care expertise to people in distant places so that they do not have to travel to the metros for treatment,” Rupali Basu, the chief executive officer of Apollo Gleneagles Hospital in Calcutta, said here today.

“Siliguri will be one of our major centres that will cater for not only the six districts in the region but also patients from neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal,” she said.

According to Debashish Ghosh, a senior cardiologist at the Calcutta institute, the Siliguri unit will initially have a 50-bed coronary care unit (CCU) for those who have suffered heart attacks and diagnostic facility for other heart diseases.

“The first four hours after a heart attack are crucial and best treatment should be provided during that period. Initially, we plan to establish CCUs with best facilities and experts to give them such care,” he said.

The facility in Calcutta has arrhythmia clinic for treatment of patients with abnormal heart rates, heart failure unit for post cardiac surgery and angioplasty, pacemaker wing for management and maintenance of patients with pacemakers and clinics for expecting mothers with hypertension and cardiac conditions.

“These clinics will be set up in all the five institutes but surgeries and angioplasties will be done only in Calcutta,” said Basu. “Once we find a site in Siliguri, we will probably establish the heart institute in the next six months.”