Chennai hospital rolls out app for diabetics

The public can use MV Diabeat to consult the multidisciplinary team at the M.V. Hospital for Diabetes for any queries related to their feet and diabetes treatment

M.V. Hospital for Diabetes here on Saturday launched a new mobile application named “MV Diabeat” to assist patients with diabetes and especially those with diabetic foot.

Releasing the application ahead of the 37th Prof. M. Viswanathan Gold Medal Oration organised by the hospital, he said the public can use MV Diabeat to consult the multidisciplinary team at the hospital for any queries related to their feet and diabetes treatment.

With India having the dubious distinction of being the “diabetes capital” of the world, he said the application could help more people to get necessary medical care at the right time. The hospital, with the expertise developed over three decades, has saved thousands of people from their legs being amputated.

Rodica Pop-Busui, president, American Diabetes Association (ADA), who delivered the Prof M. Viswanathan Gold Medal Oration, stressed on the need for doctors treating diabetic patients to diagnose possible heart-related ailments in those patients at an early stage.

Pointing to studies that show high mortality among diabetic patients with heart ailments, she said ADA along with cardiologists who are part of other eminent association in the U.S. have come together to form a set of guidelines that can help early identification of cardiovascular issues.

She highlighted in particular how measuring the biomarker N-terminal-pro hormone BNP (NT-proBNP) at least once a year can be useful identifying heart-related problems at an early stage. If diagnosed early, she said preventing the condition from advancing further was possible with many treatment options available at present.