NICVD trashes rumours regarding halt of free treatment

The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) denied allegations regarding the halt of free treatment to patients.

NICVD's spokesperson talked to the media to disown the false news circulating.

"NICVD has emerged as the only cardiac healthcare facility in the country which performed 74,758 cardiac procedures all free of charge at the main NICVD centre in Karachi, and nine satellite centres spread all over Sindh," the NICVD's spokesperson said.

"NICVD has 24 chest pain units and has become the only healthcare facility in the world to have treated over 2.2 million patients and performed 3,641 open heart surgeries and 29,494 angioplasties", claimed the spokesperson.

NICVD does all treatment based on medical evidence, which currently shows that the survival benefits of angioplasty in only during a heart attack (Primary Angioplasty) or in unstable Angina (a heart disease) but with chances of survival in the latter.

The evidence clearly shows that angioplasty in patients with Chronic Angina has a lesser chance of survival.

There is only a symptomatic benefit, which can also be achieved with medicines.

Angioplasty's used for controlling Angina only when the medical treatment fails. NICVD is the world's largest Centre for Primary angioplasty. NICVD system did more than 19,888 Primary Angioplasties in 2022.

For Elective Angioplasty, NICVD has a team comprising cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists, which meets every day and decides if any patient's medical treatment has failed; that patient is referred for Elective angioplasty, which is done free of cost.