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Press Clips :

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 :

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute & AFC Health, Khulna, Bangladesh :

The Daily Star.net, December 17, 2014 :

India's Fortis opens cardiac care unit in Khulna tomorrow

Local partner AFC Health invests Tk 30cr in the hospital

Suman Saha

India's Fortis Escorts Heart Institute will start its journey in Bangladesh tomorrow,

with an aim to provide cardiac care to around 1,000 patients a month at 'reasonable'

fees.

AFC Health Ltd, a concern of Bangladesh-based Active Fine Chemicals, has set up a 42-bed cardiac care centre in Khulna with an investment of around Tk 30 crore. Fortis will manage and operate the hospital.

“The centre will provide early diagnosis and prompt treatment as it is equipped with latest technology and equipment and has a team of noted cardiac specialists,” said SM Saifur Rahman, managing director of AFC Health.

The hospital will offer diagnostic services such as angiography to detect heart diseases as well as varied treatment options, including artificial pacemaker, coronary artery bypass, valve replacement and periphery bypass surgery.

Dr. Ashok Seth, Chairman of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, will inaugurate the centre.

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"Local patients will now get world-class treatment on their doorstep,” Rahman said, adding that the patients at the centre's intensive care unit will be monitored online by Fortis in Delhi.

Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, formerly known as Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, is a pioneer in dedicated cardiac care in India.

AFC Health has set up the centre in Khulna as the southern part of the country lacks such facilities, said Rahman, also the managing director of Active Fine Chemicals.

Around 1.5 crore people in the region are vulnerable to heart diseases, he said, adding that many patients cannot go to the capital in time for better treatment.

The country has a huge demand for cardiac institutes as the number of such patients is increasing rapidly.

The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh projected that the mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases would be 21 times higher in 2025 compared to the rate in 2003.

On an average, 10 Bangladeshi patients get treatment from Fortis Escorts in India every day, Rahman said. “The patients will now get such treatment here.”

The costs will be 10-15 percent lower than those in other cardiac hospitals in Bangladesh, he said.

The centre will reimburse patients or take no charge for the last day of their stay if they die in the hospital, he added.

AFC Health and Fortis have been working on the project for more than a year and signed an agreement in July. As per the deal, AFC Health provided fund and built infrastructure, while Fortis offered technical assistance.

The local company also plans to set up three similar centres in Comilla, Bagura and Dhaka in the next two years, Rahman said.

The company will invest around Tk 90 crore in the three centres and each will have 40-45 beds, he said.

Active Fine Chemicals manufactures chemical reagents and active pharmaceutical ingredients. It was listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2010.

Fortis operates more than 65 healthcare outlets in India, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

Fortis Healthcare, which owns Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, has more than 10,000 beds and around 280 diagnostic centres, employing more than 17,000.

suman.saha@thedailystar.net

http://www.thedailystar.net/indias-fortis-opens-cardiac-care-unit-in-khulna-tomorrow-55732

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Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai :

The Financial Express.com, December 16, 2014 :

Fortis Malar to organise a workshop on ‘Mechanical Circulatory

Support and Thoracic Organ Transplantation’

By EH News Bureau

Fortis Malar Hospital and Department of Engineering Design, IIT Madras in association with Indian Society of Artificial Thoracic Organs will host a conference on Mechanical Circulatory Support and Thoracic Organ Transplantation.

The conference aims to provide a platform for engineers, doctors and scientists working in basic sciences and industry to collaborate, interact and forge strong academic links for future interdisciplinary research in the domain of heart failure and related areas. The workshop will also focus on – ‘What ails the Indian device industry and what we need to do to make it competitive’.

The workshop will also mark the official launch of the Indian Society for Artificial Thoracic Organs. Reportedly, many renowned personalities in the field of medicine, are expected to grace the occasion with their presence. Some of the key speakers will be Dr Harvey Borovetz, distinguished Deputy Director of Artificial Organs and Medical Devices, Prof R Krishna Kumar, Professor of Engineering Design at IIT, Madras, Prof Rajagopal distinguished Professor and a Regent’s Professor at Texas A&M University, Dr Keshava Rajagopal, cardio thoracic surgeon and a specialist in end-stage heart and lung disease, Dr Griffith, professor of surgery at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine, Dr Si Mai Pham, an expert in Heart and Lung Transplant and Immuno suppression Management, Dr KR Balakrishnan, Director of Cardiac Sciences at Fortis Malar Hospital and Dr GS Bhuvaneshwar, Director, Innovation & Education of Trivitron Healthcare, Chennai.

“The forum has been designed to bring renowned national and international experts who have done original work in their respective field such as transplantation, immuno-suppression, infection control, blood pump design, fluid dynamics of non-pulsatile flow and oxygenator technology etc., together to look at problems and their solutions holistically, especially from an Indian perspective, said Dr KR Balakrishnan, Director of Cardiac Sciences at Fortis Centre for Heart Failure & Transplant, Fortis Malar Hospital.

Day 2 of the conference will witness a panel discussion comprising of medical professional and bureaucrats, which will through light on how to achieve PM Narendra Modi’s vision, ‘Make in India’, the roadblocks at achieving it.

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/healthcare/happening-now/fortis-malar-to-organise-a-

workshop-on-mechanical-circulatory-support-and-thoracic-organ-transplantation/19693/

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Fortis Hospital, Bangalore :

The Times of India, December 17, 2014, Edition: Bangalore; Reporter: Sunitha Rao, Total Area:

156.54 sq cm; Page: 4

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New Indian Express, December 17, 2014, Edition : Bangalore; Size : 694 sq.cm.; Page : 5

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New Indian Express, December 17, 2014, Edition : Bangalore; Size : 1241 sq.cm.; Page : 5

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New Indian Express, December 17, 2014, Edition : Bangalore; Size : 198 sq.cm.; Page : 4

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Fortis Hospital, Mohali :

Sector News, December 17 – 23, 2014, Page 5 :

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Fortis C - DOC : The Times of India.com, December 16, 2014 :

Use of olive, canola oil can save you from diabetes, heart diseases : Study

Sushmi Dey, TNN

NEW DELHI: Use of olive pomace or canola oil, instead of your commonly used

refined cooking oils, can significantly decrease chances of type 2 diabetes and

cardiovascular diseases, a latest and first of its kind clinical study conducted on

Indians showed.

The study was conducted by Diabetes Foundation of India (DFI) and National

Diabetes, Obesity & Cholesterol Foundation (N-DOC) along with Fortis C-DOC

Centre of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases and Endocrinology. Around

90 people with fatty lever were enrolled into the study.

The results of the trial, conducted over six months, demonstrated multiple health

benefits, along with the possibility of averting several chronic and often lethal

diseases, just by replacing commonly used refined oils with canola or olive pomace

oils.

Estimates show that around one-third of the Indian urban population suffers from

fatty lever, considered a major cause for multiple abnormalities such as clustering of

abdominal obesity, high lipids, blood pressure, diabetes and inaction of insulin.

Around 25-30% people in the national capital are found to be suffering from such

syndromes.

According to DFI Director and Chairman of N-DOC Dr Anoop Misra, who led the

investigation, olive pomace oil and canola oil are high on mono-unsaturated fatty

acids (MUFAs), considered good fat and useful in decreasing multiple disorders.

MUFAs is also present in pistachio nuts and almonds.

The study was conducted in three different groups. While the first group received

canola oil, the second used olive pomace oil. The third group used different cooking

oils other than oils high on monounsaturated fatty acids.

Results of the study, published in an international medical journal Diabetes

Technology & Therapeutics, showed fatty lever disappeared in around 67% of

people who received olive oil and 76% of those who used canola.

"Both oils - olive and canola- performed brilliantly," says Dr Misra. The study also

showed a significant reduction in mean body mass index (BMI) of those who

received either olive pomace or canola oil, whereas it increased in the group that

used other cooking oil. The mean BMI, in the group using olive pomace, reduced

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from 27.7 to 25.7, whereas in the one using canola dropped from 28 to 26.5.

However, the mean BMI of people using any other cooking oil increased from 27.2 to

27.4. Use of olive pomace and canola oil also showed remarkable improvement in

cholesterol and glucose levels along with better insulin function, the study results

shows.

Currently, there are around 67 million confirmed diabetes patients in India, with

another 30 million in pre-diabetes group. Cardiovascular diseases are also on rise in

the country with at least 10% of the population suffering from some heart disease.