Apollo Hospitals to conduct research on Asian heart disease

Hyderabad, Sep 23 (UNI) The Apollo Hospitals, pioneer in modern cardiac care in the country is set to conduct a path breaking research on Asian heart disease.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Prathap C Reddy said they would launch the Apollo National Cardiac Plan on September 24, on the eve of 'World Heart Day' to address the huge epidemic.

He said the path breaking research is to discover the unique gene amongst Indians and uncover the reason why Indians have far higher propensity to heart disease, compared to other races. On discovering this unique gene, Apollo intends to modify the gene or neutralize its inimical properties using the latest techniques in genomics, proteonomics, nanotechnology and translational resarch.

America's number one hopsital John Hopkins Hospital, is partnering with Apollo in this crucial research programme.

He said the hospitals would findout what makes an Indian more prone to heart diseases.

He said the Apollo's National Heart Plan in partnership with the Indian Medical Fraternity is a comprehensive approach to reduce the burden of heart disease in the country.

He said the risk of a heart attack among young Indians was 12 to 15 times higher than other races.

Over 30 million Indians are suffering from heart disease, he added.

UNI BR GKT SSC RN0941