Cardiology

Intensive Coronary Care Unit

The Intensive Coronary Care Unit has 16 beds with two beds catering to pediatric patients.The annual admissions to the ICCU is 2500 and consists of patients with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, end stage heart failure, complex life threatening arrhythmias, which consists of tachyarrhythmias and various degrees of symptomatic heart blocks, hypertensive emergency, pericardial tamponade, Infective endocarditis causing hemodynamic compromise and valvular heart disease associated with low output state and pulmonary edema. This ICCU also caters to the patients with post catheterization complications.

The ICCU is well equipped with one Senior Registrar and two Junior Doctors catering the patients 24 hours a day. All the beds have a cardiac monitoring system which caters to electrocardiographic monitoring .There is a central monitor which has the facility for recording and storing on-line ECG tracings of the ICCU admitted patients . There are facilities for temporary pacing, Defibrillation, Oxygenation, Invasive hemodynamic monitoring which include monitoring of CVP, Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and intra-arterial blood pressure. The ICCU has 3 volume- cycled ventilators, which are used for ventilation when indicated. The ICCU also has its own 2D Echo machine, which is used for cardiac screening of the admitted patients. The average stay of an uncomplicated infarct here is 2 days. The stay of the other patients varies as per their general condition and the indication for their admission. After the emergency treatment in the ICCU the patients are then shifted to the intermediate unit. The various procedures performed in the ICCU consists of Temporary pacing, defibrillation, invasive hemodynamic monitoring as discussed, pericardiocentesis, Permanent Pacemaker checkups and Evaluation of ICD's .

The intermediate care consists of 10 beds and mainly has patients who have been stablised in the ICCU. This also has facilities for acute care, as that in the ICCU when needed. The patients are transferred from the Intermediate to the ward when they are stable.