Own clinical evidence need of hour: V-P Radhakrishnan

CHENNAI: India must generate clinical evidence from its own patients, Vice President CP Radhakrishnan said on Saturday while launching the India Valve Registry, a national database of transcatheter heart-valve interventions.

Launching the registry at India Valves 2026, a national academic meeting on valvular and structural heart diseases in Chennai, Radhakrishnan said several countries had already established registries for advanced valve interventions and cardiovascular procedures.

Such a registry would help doctors and researchers understand treatment outcomes, identify gaps and improve patient care, he said.

The India Valve Registry is a collaborative multicentre initiative that will systematically collect secure, de-identified real-world data on patients undergoing transcatheter valve interventions, their treatment and outcomes. While such procedures have been performed in India since 2011, there was no continuing national registry documenting them.

Radhakrishnan said databases were essential for advancing research and could help identify regional variations, affected age groups and treatment outcomes.

Health Minister K G Arunraj said the government would encourage all hospitals empanelled under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) and performing valve interventions to enrol in the registry.