Ahead of World Heart Day, observed on September 29, Apollo Hospitals on Wednesday launched the 'Healthy Heart' Program, India's first heart disease prevention and reversal program.
The program is tailored to help persons prone to heart diseases and patients already suffering from heart ailments to arrest and reverse the progress of the disease.
The Healthy Heart Program is a fee-based, annual, personalised heart disease reversal program which at enrolment stage classifies patients into high or low risk based on a physical screening encompassing 14 important health parameters.
Once enrolled, the program includes continuing healthy heart doctor consultations, four cardiologist-physician consults/year, diet & lifestyle counselling (yoga, micronutrients and meditation) and continuous monitoring by a Customer Relationship Management infrastructure throughout their treatment.
The program will be applicable across 60 centres of Apollo Hospitals in India. Persons enrolling in the program are also eligible for a 15% discount for any other interventions that might be required. People undergoing angioplasty or bypass surgery at Apollo Hospitals will be automatically be enrolled into the program free of cost for a year. This is to enhance the outcome of the interventions and prevent recurrence.
Sharing his thoughts on the occasion, Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals said, "The demographic dividend that India enjoys is under severe threat from NCDs. Unchecked, this disease burden will take away India's best at their most productive age. Already around 20 percent of heart attacks observed across Apollo Hospitals are in the age group of 25-35 years. With these numbers, it is difficult to guarantee the heart health of young India in the future. Through this initiative, Apollo Hospitals wants to ensure Indians get the best of counselling and treatment. We want to nurture a Healthy India with a Healthy Heart."
Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals, says, "In keeping with the spirit of the National Health Policy, the Healthy Heart Program aims at prevention through a comprehensive approach to heart health. Most patients we see today approach the hospital or consult a doctor only when they experience some serious discomfort. This program is developed to engage with patients, as well as those prone to heart disease, well in advance to ensure that they receive all-round consultation and thereby prevent / reverse the possibility of a heart attack."
Dr K Hariprasad, President, Apollo Hospitals Division said, "There is ample global evidence from eminent medical organisations and research studies that show heart disease reversal is a reality. While hospitals in the west are running such programs successfully, unfortunately no such programs existed in India prior to this. Healthy Heart is devised to fill this lacunae and make evidence-based heart disease reversal accessible to common people outside of a research setting. One of the significant elements of this programe is that it makes cardiologists available to all those who enrol at any time for queries related to heart ailments. Once the patient has enrolled in this programe, the Healthy Heart team will offer its complete care and consultation round-the-clock.
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