"Today we have inaugurated ninth Satellite Centre of NICVD at Lyari General Hospital where all types of cardiac-care facilities including Primary PCI or angioplasty in case of heart attack is available. From now onwards, residents of Lyari would not have to go to the main NICVD in case of heart attacks as they would be treated near to their abodes in Lyari," Professor Nadeem Qamar said while talking to newsmen after the inaugurating NICVD's Lyari Satellite Centre at LGH.
Accompanied by eminent cardiologist Professor Javed Akbar Sial, Administrator of the NICVD Lyari Incharge Malik Nasarullah, Head of Pharmacy Services NICVD Jibran Bin Yousuf and Medical Superintendent of the Lyari General Hospital Dr Anwar Pallari, Professor Nadeem Qamar also inspected various sections as well as the newly-installed Cath machine at the health facility and assured the visiting patients that from now onward they would not have to visit the main NICVD for any heart related intervention as all the facilities would be available at NICVD Lyari Centre.
Professor Nadeem Qamar maintained that except for the bypass surgeries for the time being, all the cardiac-care services including Angiography and Angioplasty, Primary PCI, all types of heart implants, Echocardiography (ECHO), X-ray, labs and OPDs for both adults and children would be available at the NICVD's Lyari Satellite Center and added that in future if they are managed to get some bigger and spacious building, they could even think of starting heart surgeries in Lyari.
"And we also need to establish another major cardiac hospital in Karachi to cater to heart-health needs of people as at the moment, we are overflowing with patients at main NICVD and cannot treat all of them. This new facility could either be the Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) in Azizabad or could be established at any other hospital building, which has been completed by the Sindh government but still lying vacant," Professor Nadeem Qamar observed.
He maintained that NICVD Lyari Satellite Centre would be linked with the Chest Pain Units (CPUs) in its vicinity and in case main NICVD's emergency is overburdened with the patients, some of the heart attack patients could be shifted to the Lyari General Hospital's Satellite Centre for Primary PCI or angioplasty after heart attack.
"By the end of November this year, we are also going to establish five or six more Chest Pain Units, link them with main NICVD and our Satellite Center in Lyari to save as much lives after heart attacks as possible," he said and added that 'time is muscle' after heart attacks and sooner a patient lands at a proper cardiac facility after heart attack, better are his or her chances of survival.