THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A first-of-its-kind study on the nationwide heart failure (HF) pattern carried out by Thiruvananthapuram-based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) is likely to begin in December.
The National HF Registry, a collective effort of nine premier institutes in cardiology treatment and research, will cover 51 hospitals spread across the country. It is understood that along with the preparation of the registry, the socioeconomic impact of HF on people will also be examined for the first time.
“The plan was to start the work of the registry in November. But now we have decided to postpone the same as we need time to develop a special software for entering data collected from patients,” said Dr Harikrishnan S, Professor of Cardiology at SCTIMST.
According to him, the other two factors that prompted the SCTIMST to postpone the works of the registry were the delay in clearance from the ethics committees of respective hospitals and modifications that were made to the protocol.
“The hospitals that expressed its interest in associating with the registry should get the nod of its ethics committee for the same. But till now, only 32 hospitals had received the clearance. Also, as modifications were made to the protocol we have to duly inform the same to the hospitals,” said Harikrishnan.
Meanwhile, officers privy to the development said that a registry of this kind is the need of the hour as cardiovascular diseases are on the rise in the country. Citing a Lancet report, “The changing patterns of cardiovascular diseases and their risk factors in the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2016”, an officer said: “Prevalent cases of cardiovascular diseases increased in India from 25.7 million in 1990 to 54.5 million in 2016. A subsequent spike in deaths has also been found: from 1.3 million in 1990 to 2.8 million in 2016. Thus the said registry could help to map the disease burden.”
“In Kerala, heart attack is the leading cause of HF, followed by rheumatic heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy. But there have not been any major studies in this regard at the national level. With such a registry in place the authorities concerned could initiate necessary policy changes so as to ensure effective intervention,” said Harikrishnan.
It is said that along with the preparation of the registry, some 20 sub-studies including the socioeconomic impact of HF, effects of iron supplementation in preventing HF and others will be carried out.
The registry, as well as the studies, will be guided by institutes including All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre - Ahmadabad, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research - Bangalore, and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research - Chandigarh.
It was last month that SCTIMST was selected as a Centre for Advanced Research and Excellence in HF by the Indian Council for Medical Research.