Heart attack victims’ survival rate at AKUH matches hospitals in the West
 Survival rates of heart attack victims after angioplasty at an internationally certified local hospital are comparable to hospitals in developed countries. In a two-year follow up study of 277 heart attack patients, researchers at Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi (AKHU,K) have found the survival rate to be almost identical to outcomes reported in the published medical literature from the West.
Dr Fahim H. Jafary, Associate Professor of Medicine and Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, and colleagues have published these findings in October issue of the Journal of Invasive Cardiology, a leading US-based interventional cardiology journal. It is the first report from Indo-Pakistan region on outcomes following coronary angioplasty for heart attack.
In this report, the group showed over a two-year follow-up period, a survival rate of 97.9 per cent (2.1 per cent mortality) in 277 patients, who came to hospitals with heart attacks, were not in shock (i.e., did not have low blood pressure) and underwent angioplasty. They then compared their results with outcomes reported in published literature from developed countries and found survival rates to be almost identical.
The authors also raised two important issues pertinent to local health care. First, they urged a strong need to for making the practice of angioplasty for heart attack victims more widespread in the country, possibly with more expanded state funding. And second, they emphasised the need for more educational programmes to ensure that patients suffering from a heart attack recognise their symptoms and come to the hospital as early as possible. In this study, patients took a median time of 160 minutes to arrive at the hospital – an unacceptable delay according to Dr Jafary.
AKUH,K is a Joint Commission International Accreditation (JCIA) certified hospital. This accreditation recognises the hospital's performance in complying with international health care quality standards. The key question, however, is whether such hospitals, carrying unbiased third party validation can truly offer health care outcomes that are at par with hospitals in developed nations. The team concluded that excellent outcomes for a critical illness like heart attack can be achieved in a developing country at a JCIA certified hospital, possibly similar to those seen in the West. They stressed the need for appropriate state-of-the-art hospital services as well as the need for skilled operators on staff.
For further information, please contact:
Department of Public Affairs
Aga Khan University
Stadium Road, P.O. Box 3500, Karachi-74000.
Fax: 4934294, 4932095
www.aku.edu
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