How a death by heart attack led Haryana to rollout tele-ECG service at 600 health centres

4 min readChandigarhJul 10, 2026 08:17 PM IST

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had formally launched the Tele-ECG service on May 29. (File photo)

A patient, wheeled in at a sub-divisional hospital in Haryana, died during treatment. Doctors suspected a cardiac emergency but, there being no electrocardiogram (ECG) machine at the hospital, they could neither confirm the diagnosis nor decide on an immediate referral to a higher medical centre during the “golden hour” — the critical first 60 minutes after the onset of heart attack symptoms.

The death, however, became the turning point for Haryana’s public healthcare system.

Haryana Health Minister Arti Singh Rao says the incident prompted a rethink on how cardiac emergencies are handled, particularly in rural areas where specialist care is often hours away. The outcome was Haryana’s Tele-ECG service, a statewide programme that has brought specialist cardiac diagnosis to government hospitals and primary health centres through digital technology.

Formally launched by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Panchkula on May 29, the service is now operational at 600 government healthcare institutions across the state, including 71 District Civil Hospitals and Sub-Divisional Hospitals, 121 Community Health Centres (CHCs) and 408 Primary Health Centres (PHCs).

The system is designed to cut the time lost in diagnosing cardiac emergencies. Patients arriving with symptoms such as chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations or suspected heart attacks undergo a standard ECG using a digital machine. The ECG is uploaded through the Tele-ECG platform to a remote reporting centre, where cardiologists analyse it and send back an interpreted report, along with treatment advice or recommendations for referral to a higher healthcare facility.

Officials say the entire process takes around 10 minutes. Each test costs Rs 89, a price that includes the ECG, specialist interpretation and reporting through the tele-reporting platform.

The programme has begun delivering measurable results. According to the state government, 2,688 patients have already benefited from the Tele-ECG service. Significantly, the system identified 131 critically ill patients in time for doctors to initiate emergency treatment or arrange referrals during the crucial “Golden Hour”, when rapid diagnosis and treatment significantly improve the chances of survival.

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Officials say the service is especially valuable for rural and remote areas where cardiologists are rarely available. Instead of waiting until a patient reaches a larger hospital, local doctors can now obtain expert interpretation almost instantly, reducing delays that can prove fatal.

Minister Rao said the initiative is bringing about a major transformation in rural healthcare by ensuring expert cardiac diagnosis reaches patients closer to their homes.

The programme has received financial backing from the Centre under the Record of Proceedings (RoP) 2026-27. A sum of Rs 2.92 crore has been sanctioned under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) to support its implementation.

The state government expects the programme to conduct nearly 3.28 lakh ECG tests annually. Of these, around 2.30 lakh are projected to be carried out at 192 district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and CHCs, while another 97,920 ECGs are expected to be performed at the state’s 408 PHCs.

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The state government expects to conduct nearly 3.28 lakh Tele-ECGs every year across Haryana. Of these, nearly 2.30 lakh are projected at 192 District and Sub-Divisional Hospitals and CHCs, while about 97,920 ECGs are expected at 408 PHCs.

Officials say the long-term goal extends beyond increasing the number of ECGs. By enabling faster diagnosis and timely referrals across the public health system, the government aims to reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases by one-third while strengthening emergency cardiac care across Haryana.