Coimbatore: Coimbatore Government Hospital doctors have implanted a pacemaker in a patient for the very first time in the city.
Coimbatore: Coimbatore Government Hospital doctors have implanted a pacemaker in a patient for the very first time in the city.
A pacemaker is a device that regulates a person's heartbeat. It monitors the heart's rhythm and, when necessary, generates a painless electric impulse that triggers a heartbeat. Private hospitals charge up to Rs 5 lakh for this device.
In a welcome move, the Government of Tamil Nadu decided to make pacemakers available for all patients needing them under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Insurance Scheme. Thus, facilities for pacemaker implantation which was previously available only in cities like Chennai and Madurai has now been made available at Coimbatore Government Hospital.
The pacemaker has now been implanted on a patient named Kuppanan, a farmer from Erode district who was admitted at the Government Hospital in Coimbatore.
Dr Asokan, the Chief Minister of the Government Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore said, "The modern pacemaker implantation that was thus far done only in Government Hospitals in Madurai and Chennai has now been successfully done at the Coimbatore Government Hospital for the first time. The pacemaker implanted on the patient has stabilized his heartbeat," he confirmed.
Dr. Asokan stated that a patient implanted with a pacemaker could live a healthy life for 10 to 15 years. "When the heart rate is low, the electric power from the instrument will increase the heartbeat but the pacemaker tool will only work when needed," he added.