State to issue guidelines for gyms; all precautions taken, say gym owners
Mysore/Mysuru: The untimely death of seemingly healthy and fit Sandalwood star Puneeth Rajkumar due to cardiac arrest appears to have triggered a sudden spike in the number of people queuing up for cardiovascular check-ups across Karnataka and the same trend is being witnessed at heart hospitals in Mysuru.
Hospitals have reported a 30 to 40 percent increase in the number of patients in the Out Patient Department (OPD) and notably people above 35 are registering themselves for cardiac checks. Earlier, only people above 50 used to come for such routine checks.
So much is the rush at the State-run Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research on KRS Road that doctors, paramedical staff and the registration staff at the front office are facing pressure. “Since Saturday last, there has been a huge rush for routine cardiology checks and many young people are coming here to undergo electrocardiogram (ECG), cardiologist consultation, echocardiogram (ECHO), angiogram and treadmill test (TMT),” Jayadeva Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. K.S. Sadananda told SOM this morning.
On an average, over 500 to 600 people come to Jayadeva every day for OPD and over 10 to 15 people come to the Master Heart Check-up Department. “Since Saturday, OPD is witnessing an average of 1,100 to 1,200 people and the Master Heart Check-up Dept. is seeing crowds up to 50 and 60. We have over 55 doctors and 550 staff and this unusual rush is putting extra pressure on the resources and infrastructure,” he added.
Despite successive holidays, there is extra rush and the OPD is full with people. Most patients are in their 20s or 30s and they are making specific requests for CT angiography, ECG, ECHO and treadmill stress tests, Dr. Sadananda noted.
Many are coming in due to the psychological impact of the media coverage after watching Puneeth’s death and also due to viral messages on WhatsApp asking people not to ignore or neglect their heart, he added.
Not only Jayadeva but also many private hospitals of Mysuru like Cauvery Heart & Multi-Speciality Hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Columbia Asia, Apollo BGS Hospitals and JSS Hospital are seeing extra rush for heart check-ups where the OPDs have seen a jump by 35 percent over the last four days.
Guidelines to gyms
Meanwhile, though it still remains unclear if the intense training resulted in Puneeth’s death, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar has said that the State Government could bring guidelines for gymnasiums and fitness centres to meet any health-related emergencies at their premises.
He said that he was getting a summary prepared by renowned cardiologists that would be provided to gymnasiums and fitness centres across the State. “The guidelines will be on the type of equipment to be used in the gym and training the trainers to handle an emergency with first aid,” the Minister said.
Reacting to this, President of Mysuru Gym and Fitness Owners Association M.S. Harsha told SOM that they follow stringent guidelines while allowing fitness enthusiasts to use gym equipment. “A complete and a thorough fitness evaluation is done on all those who come to our gyms by fitness experts and no one is allowed on the floor unless the evaluation is determined safe,” he said.
“I am not too sure of what the Government guidelines are all about, but we do follow precautions like keeping first aid kits, fitness consultations, work-out based on physical endurance and the likes,” he added.
This post was published on November 3, 2021 6:45 pm