CHENNAI: Apollo Hospitals and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) came together to conduct a continuing medical education programme on `evolving paradigms in medicine' on Saturday.

It focused on current and emerging trends in some of the major diseases threatening the Indian population.

The programme sought to reverse the progression noticed in heart diseases, said Pratap C. Reddy, chairman of Apollo Hospitals. Unlike in the past more women succumbed to heart attacks after menopause.

To prevent an epidemic

The hospital had trained 370 intervention cardiologists in its Chennai and Hyderabad hospitals so far. It hoped to use the expertise, technology and skills of the doctors from America to prevent an epidemic of heart diseases, gynaecological cancers and diabetes, Dr. Reddy told reporters.

S. Balasubramaniam, president of AAPI, said as 12 percent of students in medical schools in the United States were of Indian origin, the association's efforts would help India.

"We have signed a memorandum with the Indian government for rural health. We chose heart disease, diabetes, carcinoma cervix and prostate, childhood deafness, and emergency service."

He said while the U.S. had made testing for deafness mandatory, in Karnataka the physicians found children in class VI with undiagnosed deafness performing at the level of class II.

Research done

Ranjita Misra, a public health professional from Texas A&M University and cardiologist Vibhuti N. Singh, assistant professor of medicine at USF College of Medicine, Florida, spoke of their research in diabetes and coronary artery diseases among Indians settled in the U.S.

Usha Sriram, senior consultant endocrinologist, and Preetha Reddy, managing director of Apollo Hospitals, spoke.

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