Anantnag, Aug 13 (KNO): Hundreds of patients in south Kashmir are suffering due to the lack of a cardiac catheterisation laboratory (cath lab) at the Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag, despite assurances from officials that the facility will be operational soon.
The absence of this critical facility means that patients suffering from heart attacks, both minor and major, are currently being referred to hospitals in Srinagar, which leads to potentially life-threatening delays.
The "golden hour"—the first hour after a heart attack—is crucial for saving lives, and the lack of immediate access to a cath lab significantly increases the risk of fatalities.
Officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the cath lab, which is a specialised area where doctors can perform minimally invasive tests and advanced cardiac procedures, is essential for diagnosing and treating cardiovascular diseases. In particular, the lab is crucial for performing primary angioplasty, a procedure to clear blocked arteries, which is often the cause of heart attacks.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 47% of deaths due to cardiac arrest occur before the patient reaches the hospital.
If a cath lab were available at GMC Anantnag, it could improve the chances of survival for heart attack patients by enabling timely diagnosis and treatment.
Doctors at GMC Anantnag said that the establishment of a cath lab would not only save lives but also reduce the patient load on hospitals in Srinagar.
They said the hospital serves a large population, including patients from south Kashmir and parts of the Jammu division, which makes the availability of advanced cardiac care even more critical.
Local residents have appealed to higher authorities to expedite the establishment of the cath lab at GMC Anantnag, saying it will save lives.
Principal of GMC Anantnag, Dr Rukhsana Najeeb, informed KNO that the construction of the cath lab is underway and is expected to be completed within the next month. “The machinery for the lab is being imported from the USA, and it will be one of the first such labs in Kashmir,” she said—(KNO)