Bengaluru: State govt has announced the addition of hundreds of cardiac care beds across multiple centres of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (SJICSR), signalling the growing burden of heart disease in Karnataka.Chief minister Siddaramaiah recently announced a new 100-bed Jayadeva facility on the premises of GBA multispecialty hospital in Govindarajanagar, Bengaluru.The state budget also confirmed that the 300-bed Jayadeva Hospital in Hubballi would be inaugurated later this year. In addition, 200 beds will be added to the Jayadeva Hospital in Mysuru.With these additions, a total of 600 new beds will be added to the existing capacity of 1,995 beds across Jayadeva centres in the state.Currently, the main campus of Jayadeva Hospital in Bengaluru has 1,084 beds. Two satellite centres in the city function with 68 beds at the ESI Hospital in Rajajinagar and 72 beds at KC General Hospital in Malleswaram. Outside Bengaluru, the Mysuru centre has 400 beds, while the Kalaburagi one has 371 beds.“The cardiac burden on the state is increasing day by day, fuelled by the rampant consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal substances, and comorbid conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Almost all of our beds are filled always. With such satellite centres, we can ensure the load at the main campus reduces and that patients get expert care within the golden hour in case of a cardiac emergency. The wait time for operations will also come down,” said Dr B Dinesh, director of SJICSR.“We are seeing more paediatric cases of ‘hole in the heart’ too. While some cases are genetic, others are a result of substance abuse and an unhealthy lifestyle during pregnancy, and the existence of comorbidities,” he added.Medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil said, “We know the burden at the main campus in Bengaluru and now, the OPDs at our Mysuru and Kalaburagi centres are also overcrowded. With the addition of beds in Mysuru and the inauguration of the new hospital in Hubballi, we aim to ease this burden,” he said, adding the govt is exploring establishing another satellite centre of Jayadeva Hospital in north Bengaluru.
