KARACHI – National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) has achieved another milestone by starting the first “Paediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology Program” in the country. Dr. Mohammad Mohsin who trained in Pediatric cardiology and followed it with two years of training at the University of Alberta in Canada was recruited by NICVD to start the first Pediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology program in Pakistan.
An eight-year-old child resident of Sukkur with repeated attacks of fast heart rates of up to 200 beats per minute, was permanently cured using catheters at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi free of cost. This is the first time that EP Study and Ablation Procedure has been performed on such a young child in Pakistan.
Talking to the media, Dr. Muhammad Mohsin (Assistant Professor, Paediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology) said that 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 specialized doctors can cure these children by means of a complex procedure called electrophysiology study and ablation. As there were no pediatric Electrophysiologists in Pakistan these children could not be adequately treated until now.
He said that these complex procedures require dedicated teamwork between referring cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists, technologists, anesthetists, and electrophysiology physicians, all of which are available under one roof at NICVD.
Dr. Azam Shafquat, Head of Cardiac Electrophysiology at NICVD said that NICVD was one of the pioneers of catheter-based treatment of heart rhythm problems in the country but could only treat adult patients. However, with this new service children suffering from these conditions for years could now be cured as well.
Congratulating team NICVD, Professor Nadeem Qamar (Executive Director, NICVD) said that NICVD has achieved another milestone by starting the first “Paediatric Cardiac Electrophysiology Program” in the country. This is a great achievement of the Institute. NICVD has become one of the best tertiary cardiac care hospitals in the world.
