In order to monitor patients on a long term and work out best methods of intervention for better health outcomes, Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre in Chennai has launched a heart failure registry.

The registry will record all heart failure cases reported as outpatients and in the emergency, treated in the medical centre and in the medical college hospitals. The patients will continue to be under treatment under their preferred cardiologists and will be monitored continuously.

The registry was inaugurated by the chancellor of Sri Ramachandra University (SRU), V R Venkataachalam.

Elaborating on the registry, Dr.S.Thanikachalam, chairman and director of the Cardiac Care Centre at SRMC said, with a steady increase in heart failure cases in India it is necessary to identify and treat early so that irreversible damage is prevented and the patients are given a reasonably good life. All diagnostic results will be centrally recorded and will be available to the treating cardiologist. Patient with heart failure symptoms anywhere can register themselves and get treated in these two hospitals. The rich data bank will be used for clinical research, he added.

There are many treatment options to restore a heart failure patient to good health and poor patients can also take treatment in Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital. The registry can be contacted on 044-23860531 (Monday to Friday 8 am to 4 pm), said Dr T R  Muralidharan, HOD, Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra University.

Dr.JSN Murthy, Vice Chancellor and interventional cardiologist and Dr.T.Periyasamy, HOD, cardio thoracic surgery were among those who participated in the event.  

As part of the launching of the registry, SRU organised a three day national workshop on inter-national standards on good clinical laboratory practices in association with YRG Centre for AIDS Research and Education.

The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. A.S. Kanagasabapathy, formerly head of clinical biochemistry, CMC, Vellore and Member of Clinical Chemistry Trainee Council Advisory Board – AACC, USA. He said the biggest challenge today is quality and reliability of laboratory data on which healthcare depends. Laboratories should maintain quality and reliability every moment.

Dr S P Thyagarajan, Dean Research, SRU said 75 participants from various laboratories and institutions from microbiology, biochemistry, pathology and genetics will be trained in comprehensive guidelines on implementing GCLP in clinical laboratories and an understanding of the requirements of the ISO 15189: 2012 standard in conjunction with the national standard by NABL.