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For Heart's Sake
Have you ever had a newborn squish up your finger in his fist? The tiny, warm and fragile squeeze is known to even soften the most hard-hearted soul, mothers will tell you. Now when doctors say that the size of the fist is exactly the same as that of the heart, you can then imagine how much more gentle the lub dub, lub dub of a lil' one would be. It continues to be a medical mystery to understand how one of the most complex organs of the human body takes shape and beats 2.5 billion times, to complete its life circle. But not all children grow up to be adults. Every year nearly 200,000 children in our country are born with congenital heart disease, and only 5 per cent of them have access to health care. The rest struggle to live and some don't survive the pain.
"If every child didn't have treatment, then that child wouldn't live and we would have never known in which way that child would have contributed to the growth of our country," says Dr Hari Prasad, CEO of Apollo Hospitals, and with that statement, he
shares the goal of Apollo's Save A Child's Heart (SACH) Foundation. |
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For a cause
Nearly five years back Apollo Hyderabad started working towards building a team of pediatric cardiologists, which is a rare specialisation in our country. Even today India has very few doctors with that kind of know-how. A recent study in the Indian Journal of Pediatrics shows that there are very few dedicated pediatric cardiac centres in India and only 12 pediatric cardio thoracic surgeons and 25 pediatric cardiologists for an OPD of 6500 children per year. "In most cases, heart surgeons who treat adults double up to take care of pediatric emergencies. Pediatric cardiology has been a neglected specialty despite the pressing need," says Dr Prasad. Apollo's research showed that children with congenital heart diseases most often came from the lower economic strata of the society and couldn't afford high-end treatment.
That's when Apollo set up the Foundation to save every child who cannot afford medical treatment.
The role that SACH plays
Prevention, early detection, treatment, funding and follow up care sum up the foundation's five-tiered approach to tackle the disease. The SACH foundation organises free screening camps using state-of-the-art equipment to detect heart disease in children. Identified cases are then sent to Apollo for treatment. Over the last five years, the Foundation has touched the lives of over 50,000 children, with 2000 successful surgeries to date. The Foundation's even had The Kanu Heart Foundation at Nigeria send critically ill children from Lagos for surgery here.
In Apollo about 40 to 45 surgeries take place every month. Each surgery churns out an expense of about 1.5 lakhs. The Foundation bears expenses, depending on availability of
funds, along with Apollo's help. It has not only kept citizens well-informed, but it has also raised awareness in the medical fraternity. It even pushed the Government of AP to financially support 30 per cent of the expense that children with heart disease undergo for health care. The AP government is the only one in the entire country that supports the cause.
The heart of the matter
Congenital heart disease is "like a time bomb ticking away inside a child," says pediatric cardiologist Dr SR Anil. Of every child that's born with heart disease, one-third requires treatment in the first month itself. If there is no treatment available, nearly 25 per cent die by the time they're three months old. And around 50 per cent die in a year's time. "If heart disease is detected early in a child's life then that child needn't opt for traditional surgery, which is complicated and doesn't always promise results. Advanced non-surgical techniques allow nearly 30 to 40 per cent of the cases to be treated without a surgical scar on the child," explains Dr Anil.
Many rivers to cross
In children it's hard to tell if they have heart disease, though out of 100 children 8 to 10 will have cardiac malfunctioning. It's subtle and not as obvious as in adults. Unless one has access to specialised diagnosis, it's hard to detect heart problems, despite it being a common birth anomaly. Lack of awareness further keeps children from being brought in for treatment early. "Health improves when you know about the quality of life. We tend to compromise and accept a sub-standard quality of life. It's that mindset that's persistent with many," says Dr. Sunil GS, pediatric cardiac surgeon. SACH, however, makes all the difference. "It's a significant drop in a big ocean," shares Dr. Sunil.
Brave hearts
Besides Apollo, funds have also been raised through voluntary donations from NGOs, individuals including celebrities and achievers such as Sania Mirza, Shriya Saran, Ileana and others. Among corporates, Concern India Foundation, Rotary International, Lions Club of India, Times of India, Walt Disney, Sony Entertainment Ltd., Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, District administration of Cuddapah, and many others have contributed to the cause so far. |
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