Heart Scan Machine at FIC Silent for Two Years

Key Points:

Thallium scan machine at FIC out of service for nearly two years, The Nation reports
Test assesses blood supply to the heart, blockages and damage after a heart attack
The report says the test is unavailable at private laboratories in Faisalabad
PINUM Hospital is the only facility offering the test, the report says
MS Dr Nadeem Akhtar told The Nation the machine has completed its service life

FAISALABAD: The thallium scan machine at Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology has been out of service for nearly two years.

The Nation reported on Saturday that the suspension of the test had added to the difficulties of cardiac patients. The institute is a major teaching hospital in Punjab’s second-largest city.

The test maps blood supply to different parts of the heart, indicates possible blockages in the arteries and shows damage to the heart muscle after a heart attack.

Doctors also use the test to assess the heart’s working after bypass surgery or angioplasty before deciding the course of treatment.

The report said the test was also unavailable at private laboratories in Faisalabad.

The Nation said patients from Faisalabad and the surrounding areas were left dependent on PINUM Hospital, the only facility offering the test. It added that the whole patient load had shifted to the single machine there.

The Nation quoted FIC Medical Superintendent Dr Nadeem Akhtar as saying the machine was not out of order but had completed its service life. He added that the government would now provide the institute with a new machine.

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