Panaji: The Gonna the government’s flagship ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which was introduced three years ago to reduce heart-related mortality, will be on display during G20 meetings scheduled to be hosted by the state this month.
Up to 2,573 patients have benefited from thrombolysis and 10,874 have benefited from critical electrocardiograms (electrocardiogram) free of charge under the program that has gained national recognition for being a model of digital health innovation.
STEMI It is a serious heart attack that occurs when blood flow to part of the heart is completely blocked for a long period of time, causing extensive damage to a large part of the organ.
It can be prevented by thrombolysis, an intervention in which a large blood clot is quickly dissolved, helping to restart blood flow. Thrombolysis has the potential to prevent an otherwise fatal heart attack.
GonnaSTEMI’s STEMI program is being implemented in select primary health centers through the gmc and Bangalore-based Tricog Health Services Pvt Ltd.
A patient complaining of chest pain is taken to the nearest primary health center offering the STEMI program, after which a medical officer performs an evaluation and electrocardiogram it is obtained on a tele-ECG machine. This machine transmits the ECG to a designated cardiac center in Bangalore where a team of doctors reads it, writes a report and sends it to the doctor at the relevant health center via email and WhatsApp. A doctor is called only when the patient’s condition is critical.
“Once the patient is confirmed to be having a heart attack, he is immediately treated during the critical period with newer thrombolytic agents provided to the health center,” a health official said. “The patient is stabilized and then transferred to the gmc — which is the designated tertiary care center — in a cardiac AI-equipped ambulance 108 parked near the primary health center.”
While most initiatives in Goa’s health sector were introduced with the assistance of the Union Ministry of Healthsome, including the STEMI programme, were introduced by the Goan government itself, said the state director of health services, Dr. Geeta Kakodkar. “The latest such initiative is a genome sequencing facility at the North Goa district hospital that is not available at any other district hospital in India,” he added.
Another crucial health project implemented by the state is I-breast, which aims to test one lakh women in the state for breast cancer.
