PTI, PANJIM: Health experts and policymakers on Saturday called for stronger prevention, early detection, referral systems, and timely treatment across the country. The calls were made during the three-day National Cardiovascular Disease Summit 2026 at Varca, which is organised by the State government in association with Tricog Health under the theme “Policy and Implementation for Scalable Cardiovascular Care.”
The summit brought together policymakers, cardiologists, physicians, endocrinologists, public health experts, researchers and health technology specialists, said officials. The experts discussed various aspects of cardiovascular care, including prevention and screening, emergency response, referral, treatment and long-term management.
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Officials noted that the sessions focused closely on the burden of cardiovascular disease and the role of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and cardio-kidney-metabolic risk in driving it. The event also covered population-based screening under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, as well as paediatric cardiovascular diseases—including congenital and rheumatic heart disease—and cardiovascular risks among women.
Wing Commander Dr Shamanna S Iyengar, chair of the summit’s scientific committee, stated that cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading cause of death. “Cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading cause of death: 19.4 million lives lost in 2023, 28.6 per cent of all deaths globally,” he said. He added that nearly 3.1 million lives were lost to cardiovascular disease in India in 2024, stressing the need to focus heavily on early detection and addressing care gaps for women and children.
Speaking at the programme, State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said the State’s healthcare ecosystem aims to ensure that patients receive treatment without ever being turned away. “Thirty-five years ago, when my father had a heart attack, there was no ambulance and no cardiac expertise nearby; only a drive to Goa Medical College and a phone call to doctors in Bombay and the United States for guidance. That is the gap this programme was built to close,” Rane said. In Goa, no patient is turned away, no protocol is compromised, and patients get everything free of cost from treatment to medication, he added.
A primary focus of the summit was the management of STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction)—a severe type of heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery—where delays in diagnosis and restoring blood flow heavily dictate patient outcomes. Goa’s Statewide STEMI programme, launched in 2018, was showcased at the event.
Goa Health Secretary Yatindra M Maralkar explained that the district hospitals in the State are now seamlessly connected to a STEMI referral pathway, actively supported by AI-enabled ECG diagnostics at the point of care.
Implementation experiences from Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab were discussed. Delegates examined hub-and-spoke networks—a system in which larger, better-equipped hospitals support smaller health centres—alongside first-contact diagnosis, patient transportation, referral systems and unified data management.
Dr C N Manjunath, MP and former director of the Bengaluru-based Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, delivered the keynote address on the broader realities of cardiovascular care in India.
“Sixty per cent of India lives without access to a cath lab, and every thirty minutes of delay raises the risk of death by seven per cent,” he warned, while advocating for the rapid adoption of tenecteplase (a clot-busting medication), AI-assisted diagnosis, and hub-and-spoke regional models.
