The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Daily wage worker gets a new lease of life

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 04, 2006
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Daily wage worker gets a new lease of life

Staff Reporter

The daily wage worker has been given a pacemaker

Bangalore: For 44-year-old Ramu, this has come as a new lease of life. Through the efforts of the Bhagawan Mahaveer Heart Centre, managed by the Vivus Group and the Rotary Club Bangalore East, a pacemaker was implanted on Ramu, a daily wage worker with heart disease, at the centre here on Thursday.

The pacemaker, which cost Rs. 6.5 lakh, was donated by Heartbeat International, an international voluntary organisation based in the U.S. providing medical care and devices to needy patients.

Speaking to presspersons here on Thursday, S.S. Ramesh, Chairman and Managing Director of Vivus Group, said the patient had been diagnosed as having irregular heartbeat one year ago but as he was poor he could not afford to have an operation for implanting a pacemaker.

"Pacemakers are expensive and may cost between Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 8 lakh. Then we referred the case to the `pacemaker bank' of the Rotary Bangalore East and after evaluating the medical and economic status of the patient, the pacemaker was given to the patient," Dr. Ramesh said.

The operation was done by R. Keshav, cardiologist at the heart centre.

Pacemaker banks are distribution centres identified by Heartbeat International and comprises qualified physicians, appropriately equipped and staffed hospitals and a local Rotary Club.

According to Rotarian V. Krishnamoorthy, there was a need to spread awareness about the availability of such services for needy patients so that those with cardiac problems can have access to expensive medical treatment. "We have six more pacemakers in our bank and needy patients can avail themselves of the facility," he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section