KARACHI: The head of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) on Wednesday said by performing more than 4,000 cardiac surgeries for free in a single year the heart care facility had “topped the world”.

“Our surgeons have performed paediatric and adult surgeries in four cities of Sindh — Karachi, Sukkur, Larkana and Tando Mohammad Khan in a single calendar year,” said Dr Nadeem Qamar, executive director, NICVD.

Besides, he added, over 12,000 procedures, dozens of cardiac implants had been carried out and thousands of diagnostic procedures were conducted last year.

“All this is done totally free at our hospital in Karachi and eight satellites being run across Sindh.”

He said the NICVD emerged as one of the largest centres in the world in performing primary PCI or angioplasty after heart attack and elective angioplasties in a single year, adding that cardiologists performed 8,197 primary PCIs at all NICVD facilities after patients were brought to the hospital without heart attacks and required immediate treatment because of obstruction in arteries.

He said the NICVD had established its satellites in Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sehwan, Tando Mohammad Khan, Mithi, Larkana, Khairpur and Sukkur.

He said NICVD Karachi received 1.123 million cardiac patients, of which 3,847 required surgeries.

Seven chest pain units are operating in Karachi under Gulshan Chowrangi Flyover, Gulbai Flyover, Qayyumabad Flyover, Malir Halt Flyover, Nagan Chowrangi Flyover, at I.I. Chundrigar Road and at Lyari General Hospital.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2019