Ramachandra University cancer centre to get cardiac unit

Chennai: A heart failure unit and a separate section to monitor arrhythmia patients will be started at the cancer care centre of Sri Ramachandra University, informed the chairman and director of the centre, Dr Thanikachalam, during the 20th anniversary celebration of the centre on Friday.

He said, “We receive not less than 20 heart failure cases in a week. And so, a separate unit has been planned to give a specialised treatment to them.”

Here, a person would be put in-charge, who will have an intensive monitoring of every activity of the patient so as to find out what leads to the poor condition of the person. A registry will be maintained to note the study on every person.

Another section to treat arrhythmia, a condition where the heart beats in an irregular or abnormal rhythm, was also planned at the cardiac care centre.

Earlier, chancellor V.R. Venkataachalam conferred the visiting professorship on Dr K.M. Cherian, founder and CEO of Frontier Lifeline and Dr K.M. Cherian Heart Foundation.

Cardiologists said the centre would focus on sophisticated, minimally invasive, neo-natal and heart transplant surgeries. Plans are also on to start a fund to benefit poor child patients.

The centre, inaugurated by CM J. Jayalalithaa on September 5, 1994, has now handled over 1.27 lakh patients. Over 35,000 invasive studies, more than 10,000 cathlab procedures and 30,000 cardiac surgeries have been performed at the centre so far.