NICVD emerges as one of the largest healthcare facility

KARACHI: National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), which included ten hospitals and 22 Chest Pain Units, became the only healthcare facility globally that had treated around 1.9 million patients and performed over 3,227 cardiac surgeries and over 17,000 primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) free of charge in 2021.

NICVD Spokesperson said that in the year 2021, NICVD surgeons performed the aforementioned cardiac operations and procedures on children and adults in various Sindh cities.

He stated, "NICVD has established itself as the country's only cardiac healthcare facility, performing 3,227 cardiac surgeries and 66,518 procedures for free at the main NICVD centre in Karachi and nine satellite centres around Sindh.".

He continued by stating that the NICVD Karachi had become one of the world's largest centres for primary PCI or angioplasty during a heart attack, as well as elective angioplasties, in a single year. In a single year, cardiologists at the NICVD performed 8,110 primary PCIs.

In terms of the number of cardiac patients examined at the institute's main facility in Karachi, a spokesman stated the NICVD Karachi received over 1 million cardiac patients, 2,692 of whom required surgery and were operated on after that.

"The NICVD, Karachi performed a record number of 8,110 primary PCIs or angioplasties in an emergency, around 3,465 elective angioplasties & initial invasive procedures, over 16,186 angiographies, 4 TAVI procedures, 2,962 thallium scans, 56,425 echocardiograms, 748 PPM, and 135 ICD & CRT procedures in 2021," according to a spokesperson.

In 2021, 187,653 cardiac patients attended the NICVD's Outpatient Department (OPD), while 257,935 patients were treated in an emergency, and more than 41,000 patients were hospitalised, according to him. More than 20 minimally invasive cardiac or keyhole procedures were also done at NICVD, Karachi.

He also stated that in 2021, a total of 191,638 patients from different parts of the country accessed the NICVD system for free treatment.

The NICVD had been working through its nine satellite centres, including Larkana, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Sehwan, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Mithi, Khairpur, and Lyari, in addition to its leading site in Karachi.

Diagnoses and other treatments were indeed offered at all satellite centres. Open-heart and bypass procedures and paediatric cardiac surgery are available in the Sukkur, Larkana, and Tando Muhammad Khan centres.

"Our satellites in Sukkur, Larkana, and Tando Muhammad Khan have been performing open-heart surgeries," the spokesperson said, noting that 1,170 open-heart surgeries had been performed at the NICVD Sukkur with a 1 per cent mortality rate, over 400 cardiac surgeries had been performed at the NICVD Tando Muhammad Khan, and 12 cardiac surgeries had been performed at the NICVD Larkana so far. In 2021, the NICVD facility in Sukkur handled 197,048 cardiac patients, 153,476 in Tando Muhammad Khan, 106,529 in Larkana, 22,687 in Nawabshah, 90,316 in Hyderabad, 20,078 in Sehwan, 39,800 in Khairpur, 27,772 in Mithi, and 48,037 in Lyri," according to a NICVD spokesperson.

Aside from satellite centres around Sindh, the centre had also established small units, known as chest pain units, in various areas throughout Karachi and other cities in the province so that patients living nearby could obtain first assistance as soon as possible in the event of an emergency.

"A total of 22 chest pain units are currently operational, with 17 CPUs in Karachi, 1 in Ghotki, 1 in Tando Bago, 1 in Jacobabad, 1 in Umerkot, and 1 in Tando Allahyar," he claimed.

More than 211,917 patients were treated at these units, according to the NICVD representative, with 4,058 of them suffering from severe heart attacks and being sent to the main NICVD for primary care angioplasty in 2021. Ten more chest pain units will be formed in Karachi and other places across the province in the near future.