Elli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt Ltd, Institute of Validation Technology (IVT) and Sanofi Synthelabs jointly launched “Basics and Beyond”, a three day training programme on interventional cardiology at the RR Army Hospital here on October 31, 2003. The programme is meant for students of interventional cardiology.

The students will be introduced to latest devices, hardware and techniques in interventional cardiology. The risks involved in the procedures and the techniques to minimize them will also be explained to them. Experts from all over the country will provide hands on training through live case demonstrations.

The course, which is in two phases “initial” and “advanced” will be conducted in three zones of the country ie, North, West and South during 2003-04.

Although interventional cardiology is part of the syllabi of postgraduate students and those specializing in cardiology, it is not a very structured training programme. The current curriculum provides for very little hands on training and time spent on the growing technique. “Basics and Beyond is the only programme of its kind in the country, which aims at training young cardiologists in the country and supports the country’s academic programme for this sector of medical practitioners,” says Rajiv Gulati, CMD, Elli Lilly (India).

The field of interventional cardiology in India is progressing at a rapid pace with cath labs coming up all over the country. The aggressive manner in which the companies have been promoting their equipments and the growing number of surgeries have been the key reason for the boom in the number of angioplasties performed in the country.