STEMI Maharashtra project: 34,032 critical heart attack cases found in 57.9 lakh ECGs since 2020-21
On World Heart Day, the public health department says the STEMI Maharashtra project is getting heart attack patients tests and treatment within the golden hour.
The impact of the STEMI Maharashtra project is clearly visible on World Heart Day, observed today, September 29, the public health department has said. The department says the project is being run in the state so that patients get immediate tests and treatment in the "golden hour" after a heart attack, and that it is proving a lifeline for many patients.
According to the department, the project has built the whole chain of treatment, from village-level health institutions to facilities for angiography and angioplasty.
Every moment matters for a patient after a heart attack. If the artery supplying blood to the heart is blocked and treatment is not received in time, damage to the heart muscle keeps increasing.
According to health department figures, 57,90,963 ECGs were done under the project between 2020-21 and September 27, 2026. Of these, 34,032 patients were found to be STEMI critical, while 1,45,503 patients were found in another critical category. This means that about 3 of every 100 ECGs found a patient in a critical category, and about 0.59 per cent of those patients were STEMI critical.
STEMI stands for ST-elevation myocardial infarction. When a blood clot forms in an artery of the heart and the blood supply stops suddenly, the heart muscle stops getting oxygen. It is therefore important to identify STEMI on an ECG as early as possible. It is equally important that treatment such as angioplasty to open the blocked artery is then received in time. The STEMI Maharashtra project is strengthening this chain of treatment.
The state has 2,415 "spoke" health institutions and 96 "hubs", which have opened the way for heart patients to get timely treatment. An ECG is done at a primary health institution and evaluated immediately. If the patient turns out to be "STEMI critical", the process of sending the patient to a hub hospital for further treatment begins. In this way, an effort is being made to save precious time between the test and the treatment to open the artery.
Sanjay Katkar said the STEMI project is very useful and is being implemented effectively so that heart patients get timely treatment. The manpower available in the project is being mapped, and instructions have been given to use it properly according to the capacity of the available staff.
