The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a meeting of American Association of Thoracic Surgeons and International Coronary Congressin New Delhi today (November 12, 2016).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that healthcare is a priority area to our country. However, the challenges at meeting the healthcare requirements are acute in the case of developing economies with large populations. Doctors have a responsibility to work on creating greater awareness about prevention and treatment among the general population. The most common cause leading to CAD and heart attacks are wrong lifestyle choices. Hence, precautionary strategies have to take centre-stage in the fight against heart diseases. Our healthcare sector has to be equipped to not only treat people but also guide them about prevention of medical conditions.

The President said that the International Coronary Congress, to his mind, is a great platform where steps necessary to strengthen our healthcare system into one that is universally accessible, affordable and effective can be discussed. To build such a system, we require not only a robust healthcare infrastructure, but also trained and motivated personnel. We can study the systems prevalent in other nations that have turned successful in providing treatment to their entire population. Our country is unique on account of the size and geographical spread of our population. Therefore, we have to develop suitable solutions to meet our requirements.

This release issued at 1300 hrs