Chhattisgarh marks another milestone as Health Minister TS Singh Deo launches the new ELCA Machine.

Mumbai, Maharashtra [India] : India earned its position among the limited countries capable of laser treatment for heart blockage With the remarkable progress being made in health services today, Health Minister Shri TS Singhdeo inaugurated the country’s first Excimer Laser Coronary Angioplasty (ELCA) at the Advanced Cardiac Institute in Raipur, for the treatment of heart disease. Today, on one hand when the whole world is engaged in battling COVID Pandemic through the Corona vaccine, Chhattisgarh is making remarkable achievements on this battle as well as on other health issues. Advance Cardiac Institute is a heart hospital based at Government Medical College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, built by the state government for advanced treatment for heart diseases. Since its inception on 1 November 2017, the institute has led cardiac treatment in and around the state. The institute is one of the top cardiac hospitals in the country, that has implanted a pacemaker in a 102-year-old patient.

ACI is also known for the treatment of critical heart diseases, 3D electrophysiology and radiofrequency ablation (4 EPS), transfemoral aortic valve implantation (TAVI), left atrial appendage closure (LAA device), and physiologic pacing. The state government bears all the expenses of free advanced cardiac treatment through the Dr. Khoobchand Baghel Health Assistance Scheme (DKBSSY), a scheme that is a simulation of National Health Services (NHS) from Great Britain.  Dr. Smit Srivastava, Head of the Department of Cardiology at the Advance Cardiac Institute, explaining about excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA), said that ECLA is the optimal treatment for hard blockages in the heart vessel. It uses excimer lasers, which use short-wavelength, high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light, non-open blockages, very old total blockages, re-blockage of pre-stents, and large blood clots in emergency angioplasty. Traditional balloon angioplasty uses compressive force to remove blockages, while high energy from the laser vaporizes the coronary blockage.

Health Minister Shri TS Singh Deo met the first patient, benefited from this treatment

Health Minister Shri TS Singh Deo arrived at the Advanced Cardiac Institute today and met the 46-year-old female patient of Mungeli district who has been benefited from this facility. Those who were admitted to ACI due to heart attacks and recurrent chest pains, their coronary angiography revealed a 90 percent blockage in the left first artery of the heart. Attempts to do angioplasty by traditional ballooning did not yield desirable results, as the blockage was not opening from the balloon due to fibrosis. Hence treating it with the use of a laser is the next best option. The blockage was successfully vaporized by high energy lasers and stents were placed to prevent future blockages. The patient is expected to be discharged from the hospital in the next 2 days of the treatment. After this, Health Minister Shri TS Singh Deo witnessed the entire process of the machine through experimentation on the apple and expressed heartfelt greetings to the officers and doctors of the department on this remarkable achievement.