We may have top-notch ambulances plying the roads, but shockingly, 90 per cent of heart attack victims get to hospital by public transport or a private vehicle.

Only 10 per cent use an ambulance.

Over 42 per cent of those who suffer a heart attack travel to hospital via bus, train or autorickshaw, wasting precious minutes while the heart condition rapidly deteriorates, cardiologists said at Madras Medical Mission, which is hosting the annual international symposium on Advanced Cardiovascular Therapeutics over the weekend.

“Doctors should focus on minimising the ‘Door to Balloon’ time, the period taken for the heart attack victim to undergo angioplasty, from the minute he or she enters the hospital should not exceed 90 minutes,” said Ajit Mullasari, director of cardiology at MMM.

The conference aimed to educate around 300 cardiologists from across the country about this recommendation from the American College of cardiology.

An angioplasty is a minimally invasive procedure, in which a catheter is inserted through an artery in the groin or shoulder and guided into the heart to remove blocks in blood vessels that cause heart attacks.

The symposium, conducted in collaboration with experts from Cleveland Clinic in the US, will include live surgeries and seminars on the advancements in minimally invasive cardiac procedures in children and adults.

“People often tend to ignore chest pain, and brush it off as a gastric problem. Any unnatural pain should be immediately checked by a physician,” said Marc Silvestri, a cardiovascular surgeon from France.