MP Dr CN Manjunath to discuss heart disease crisis of Hassan with PM Modi

In a concerning trend that has triggered widespread alarm, as many as 18 people have died of heart attacks in just the last 39 days in Karnataka’s Hassan district alone — many of them reportedly young.

Member of Parliament and renowned cardiologist Dr CN Manjunath has taken serious note of the sudden spike in cardiac fatalities among young people and is set to discuss the issue directly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dr Manjunath has already held preliminary talks with Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Karnataka’s Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to explore urgent interventions to tackle the crisis.

 Amid growing concern, Hassan district health officials have proposed expanding the government’s ‘STEMI’ project — a special rapid treatment model for heart attacks — to more taluk hospitals. The District Health Officer Dr Anil Kumar has formally requested the health department to implement the STEMI protocol at hospitals in Belur, Sakleshpur, Alur, Arkalgud, and Channarayapatna taluks.

The plan is to provide immediate and expert-backed treatment for patients arriving with chest pain symptoms. Under the STEMI project, ECG reports of patients are uploaded instantly to Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in Bengaluru, where senior cardiologists assess the reports remotely and guide local doctors on emergency treatment protocols.

Currently, the STEMI initiative is already in place at the district hospital and taluk hospitals in Holenarasipura and Arsikere. Given the alarming rise in sudden cardiac deaths, officials are pushing to extend it to five additional taluks without delay.

STEMI — which stands for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction — is a government-backed rapid response project designed to reduce deaths due to sudden heart attacks. Karnataka has adopted a ‘hub and spoke’ model across 86 taluk hospitals in collaboration with the Jayadeva Institute.

When a patient complains of chest pain at a taluk hospital, the local medical team immediately performs an ECG and shares it with experts at the Jayadeva hub. Specialist cardiologists then confirm the diagnosis, provide critical guidance to the local doctors, and, if necessary, arrange for the patient’s transfer to a higher cardiac care centre.

The project aims to ensure timely intervention during the critical ‘golden hour’, significantly improving survival chances.