Meet Dr Harish  - Leading Cardiac Surgeon

Daijiworld.com intends to publish a series of articles, interviews, and expert opinions of the coastal region's leading medical practitioners in various fields. Their complete contact details will also accompany the feature.
 
An introduction and an interview with Dr Harish is the first in this new series. Editor-in-chief

Dr. Harish is serving as the Clinical Director of Cardiovascular Services and Chief Cardiac Surgeon at Yenepoya Speciality Centre (Y.S.H) at Kodialbail which is located at the centre of Mangalore city. The department of Cardiology and Cadiovascular Surgery has been operational since December 2008. The hospital has been recognised for Yeshaswini Scheme, Karnataka State Govt Employees, Sampoorna Suraksha, Various Insurance Companies and Corporate Employees.

In addition hospital having a charitable wing taking care of the genuinely poor patients who can contact the administration.

Hospital also intent to cater to Foreign patients.

Dr.Harish is a senior Cardiac Surgeon with an experience of more than 16years and more than 3000 independent Cardiac Surgeries to his credit. His special interests include OFF Pump, Beating Heart Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), Valve Surgeries and Paediatric Cardiac Surgeries.

He is one of the first Cardiac Surgeons of Mangalore to operate on Blue Babies and Tumors of the Heart successfully.

After completing his McH from Trivandrum, Kerala in 1993 he worked at reputed centres like B.M.Birla Heart Centre, Kolkata, Manipal Heart Foundation, Bangalore, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia and Sri Ramachandra Cardiac Centre, Chennai.

During this period he was trained by Eminent Cardiac Surgeons in India and Abroad.

He was working at Cardiac Department at A.J.Hospital, Mangalore for 5years as Chief Cardiac Surgeon since August 2008 he has shifted to Yenepoya Speciality Hospital (YSH), Kodialbail, Mangalore. It has the most advanced Cardiac setup in the District of Dakshina Kannada. He was instrumental in setting up this advanced Speciality Centre.

He is a Full Time Surgeon at YSH and is available round the clock.

Health Related : Question & Answer:

Q: What are the common symptoms of coronary heart disease?

Patients usually present with Chest pain which radiates to arms or neck (Angina), breathlessness, sweating, tiredness and fatigue. All these symptoms are increased after exercise. But silent heart attack may occur in diabetic patients.

Q:  How is angina different from a heart attack?

An episode of angina is not a heart attack. Angina is a recurring pain or discomfort in the chest that happens when some part of the heart does not receive enough blood temporarily. It is usually relieved within a few minutes by resting or by taking prescribed anginal medicine. People who have been diagnosed with angina have a greater risk of a heart attack than do other people.

Q: What is heart attack?

Here, the classic symptoms may be triggered or exacerbated by exertion, but it may also occur at rest, will be severe and will not come down with usual anti anginal drugs. This may persist for more than 30 minutes. In heart attack (Myocardial Infarction) the damage to the heart muscle is usually permanent. There may be some other tissue that is not dead but is not functioning properly (called stunned myocardium). If blood flow is restored in these parts by medical means or by surgery; this part of the heart muscle may come back to normal.

Q: What are the risk factors for coronary artery disease?

Diabetes, Hypertension, high cholesterol levels, smoking, stress and a family history of heart disease are some of the common risk factors.

Q: What is atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis is a condition where cholesterol and other fats along with calcium and blood are deposited inside the arteries. This leads to Coronary Artery Disease.

Q:  What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a type of fat produced in the liver and is found in all of our body cells. There are two types; Saturated and Unsaturated. Unsaturated fat is more harmful and is found in butter, ghee, red meat and coconut oil.

Q: What is high blood pressure (BP) and how is it treated?

Normal Blood Pressure is 110-120 mm of Hg Systolic, and 80-85 mm of Hg diastolic.

High blood pressure results from the tightening of very small arteries. It can be controlled by low salt diet, regular exercise, stress management, and weight control.

If not controlled by these measures, medications may need to be started

Q: How do you diagnose Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)?

Initially, non invasive tests like Echocardiogram, ECG, Cardiac enzyme levels in blood, 64 Slice CT Scan and Tread Mill Test are used to Diagnose CAD. A definitive diagnosis is made by Coronary Angiogram, which is the gold standard for detecting CAD.

Q: What is coronary angiogram and how is it done?

It is done in the Catheterization Lab (Cath Lab). Here, the cardiologist makes a small incision in the groin or arm through which a catheter is inserted into the coronary artery. A contrast material is injected through the catheter into the blood vessels being studied and several sets of x-rays are taken. The blocks in the arteries will appear as filling defects.

Q:  What are the treatment options available for the blocked coronary arteries?

A severely narrowed coronary artery needs treatment to reduce the risk of getting a heart attack. They include medical and surgical management.

Medical management consists of Drugs to decrease pain, cholesterol and also diet control.
Angioplasty: It’s the Dilatation of a narrowed blood vessel with a help of a balloon and insertion of a stent to prevent further block.

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG)

Q: What is Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (CABG)?

Here, the Blocks in the coronary arteries are bypassed using the arteries and veins taken from the patient’s body. Earlier days, this surgery was performed with a help of a heart lung machine (On Pump). Nowadays, this operation is performed on the beating heart without going on bypass, using an Octopus device.(Off Pump surgery)

Q: When is CABG performed?

It is usually done in patients with multiple blocks in the coronaries and in those with “Left main” disease.

Q:  When can the patient’s return to work?

Depending on the type of work they do, it is possible for them to return to their job in 4-8 weeks.

Q: What medications will be required after surgery?

Patients are prescribed Aspirin, Anti cholesterol drugs like Atorvastatin or Simvastatin and drugs to reduce the work load of the heart.

Q: What diet change is required after surgery for CAD?

Weight reduction, low-fat diet, and close management of diabetes are important for patients with coronary artery disease. Blood cholesterol levels can be reduced with a combination of exercise and cholesterol-lowering medication

Q: What are the other common diseases affecting the heart?

Apart from CAD, the valves of the heart may be damaged due to various diseases. This may require replacement or repair of the valve under bypass.

Congenital heart disease affects twenty five to thirty thousand children a year.  That is eight out of every 1000 birth each year.  Medical and surgical treatments are now available for these children, giving them an opportunity to grow and lead a normal life.

Reach out Dr Harish:

Mobile : +91 93421 64733
+91 824 4238855   EXT 663(Off),    Fax - +91 824 2496800
Email ID : dr_harishr@hotmail.com