NICVD starts first paediatric cardiac electrophysiology programme in Pakistan

The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) has achieved another milestone by starting the first “Paediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology Programme” in the country when an eight-year old child, a resident of Sukkur with repeated attacks of fast heart rates of up to 200 beats per minute, was permanently cured using catheters at the institute in Karachi, free of charge.

“This is the first time that an EP study and ablation procedure has been performed on such a young child in Pakistan. This was done by Dr Mohammad Mohsin, trained in paediatric cardiology and followed it with two years of training at the University of Alberta in Canada, who has been hired by the NICVD to start the first Pediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology Programme in Pakistan,” Prof Nadeem Qamar, executive director of the NICVD, told newsmen on Friday.

Terming it a great achievement of the NICVD, he said the NICVD has achieved another milestone by starting the first “Paediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology Programme” in the country, adding that the institute had become one of the best tertiary cardiac care hospitals in the world.

Talking to media, Dr Muhammad Mohsin, assistant professor, paediatric cardiac electrophysiology, said the procedure was performed successfully without any complications. Heart problems in which the heart goes too fast or too slow are not uncommon in children. Highly specialised doctors can cure these children by means of a complex procedure called electrophysiology study and ablation. As there were no paediatric electrophysiologists in Pakistan, these children could not be adequately treated until now.

Dr Mohsin maintained that these complex procedures require dedicated teamwork between referring cardiologists, paediatric cardiologists, technologists, anesthetists and electrophysiology physicians, all of whom are available under one roof at the NICVD.

Dr Azam Shafquat, head of cardiac electrophysiology at the NICVD, said the institute was one of the pioneers of catheter- based treatment of heart rhythm problems in the country, but it could only treat adult patients. However, with this new service, children suffering from these conditions for years could now be cured as well.