3 days ago
Punjab expands STEMI project for heart attack patients
CHANDIGARH Punjab Health minister Dr Balbir Singh
Health minister Dr Balbir Singh on Tuesday launched the state-wide expansion of the Punjab STEMI Project on National Doctors' Day, empowering all the district and sub-divisional hospitals across the state to give thrombolysis treatment by administering a clot buster drug Tenecteplase to save patient life in case of heart attack.
This ambitious initiative, also known as 'Mission Amrit' (Acute Myocardial Reperfusion in Time), aims to dramatically improve outcomes for patients experiencing ST-Segment Elevated Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), the most severe type of heart attack.
The minister accompanied by principal secretary health Kumar Rahul and professor and head of cardiology at DMCH-Ludhiana Dr Bishav Mohan, launched the project here and said that the Tenecteplase injection, which costs around ₹ 30,000, is being administered free of cost under this project.
'This injection helps to dissolve blood clots in the heart,' he added.
The project was launched across the state after the success of a pilot project, which was initially implemented in two districts— Ludhiana and Patiala— and extended to nine more districts later. In the pilot stage, approximately 14,000 chest pain patients have been enrolled, and out of 1305 STEMI patients identified, 583 have successfully received thrombolysis at district health facilities.
To ensure project's success, the minister said that over 700 staff members, including medical specialists, emergency medical officers (emos), and staff nurses from all 23 districts, have undergone intensive capacity-building training programmes at DMCH-Ludhiana.
