WhatsApp, training, and clot-buster drug boost heart attack care in rural Punjab

Doctors in rural Punjab are improving access to timely heart attack care by combining WhatsApp-based coordination, frontline healthcare worker training, and the clot-busting injection tenecteplase.

The approach aims to cut delays in treatment for patients far from major hospitals. With WhatsApp, rural health workers can quickly consult cardiologists, share ECGs, and decide on care. Trained frontline staff are able to administer tenecteplase, a clot-dissolving drug, within the critical window after a heart attack.

Health experts say the model addresses a key gap in rural cardiac care, where distance and lack of specialists often lead to late intervention. Early use of tenecteplase can restore blood flow and reduce heart muscle damage before a patient reaches a tertiary center.

The initiative is part of broader efforts to decentralize emergency cardiac treatment and save lives in Punjab’s underserved areas.