300 docs attend Max Hospital , IMA CME

CHANDIGARH, SEPTEMBER 29, 2016: As many as 300 doctors of Indian Medical Association (IMA) Chandigarh attended a Max Hospital’s CME on ‘caring for the hearts together- the heart team approach’ at IMA auditorium, sector 35 here last night today where new approach towards heart disease treatment was discussed at length.
Speaking during occasion, Dr Virendar Sarwal, director & head, Cardio Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Max Hospital said that rapidly expanding treatment options for heart diseases and procedures such as heart valve repairs, coronary artery bypass surgery and arrhythmia treatment have confused the patient.
Talking about the latest concept of ‘heart team approach’, Dr Sarwal said that the patient is offered the best possible treatment option (say out of bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty) by getting all the medical reports reviewed by a team of experts which include cardiothoracic surgeons ,cardiologists and physicians. Under this latest approach every patient who is stable is counselled by a heart team about the pros and cons of procedure and based on reports he is given the best suitable option of treatment and his informed consent is mandatory.
Interestinlgy ‘heart team approach ’ is mandatory now in most western countries for any cardiac centre, and in our country all the patients are now encouraged to take opinion from both the cardiologist and cardiac surgeon (after his angiography) while deciding on the intervention for himself after knowing the benefits and disadvantages of the particular intervention.
Discussing rapid advances in technology and techniques, Dr Sarwal said that these remarkable breakthroughs mean a new concept of patient care , bringing together interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and other experts under one roof to evaluate each patient and design customized treatment plans to meet specific patient needs. This approach not only improves outcomes and overall patient satisfaction, it ensures wholesome care for the patient. In surgery too, options which reduce trauma of surgery with less invasive technique like Beating heart bypass surgery , robotics are preferred by doctors. Aesthetic considerations, like minimally invasive techniques, also factor in especially in females.