PESHAWAR: Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC), the only dedicated cardiac hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Friday announced the year 2024 as highly successful as over 2,000 cardiac procedures, including 1,901 open-heart surgeries (236 on children), were performed during the period. With the landmark achievement, the institute becomes one of the largest heart centres in Pakistan, according to its annual performance report. The report highlights a significant impact on cardiac care in the region. Riffat Anjum, the PIC spokesperson, said in 2024, the institute’s outpatient department received 69,489 patients, including 10,363 children. “The hospital performed 15,143 angiographies and angioplasties. PIC also provided a beacon of hope for children with congenital heart defects, successfully closing atrial septal defects (holes in the heart) in 811 children using minimally invasive devices.” She said PIC’s emergency department treated 16,895 cardiac patients, including 653 children. The spokesperson said under the Sehat Card Plus programme, 19,701 patients received free angiography, angioplasty, surgeries, and other treatments. “In a significant advancement, PIC performed 16 transcatheter aortic valve implantations (TAVI), a minimally invasive procedure, setting a new standard for cardiac care in the province.” Ms Anjum said PIC also provided exceptional care to patients from other provinces and neighbouring Afghanistan. “Approximately 1,100 Afghan patients received OPD consultations, and 300 underwent angiography, angioplasty, cardiac surgery and other cardiac treatments,” she added. “The hospital’s state-of-the-art facilities, including cardiac MRI, CT scans, ultrasound, X-Rays, and general MRI, benefited 35,756 patients. PIC’s internationally accredited laboratory conducted over 556,706 tests,” she added.