MANGALURU: A doctors’ collective on Monday saved the life of a Chikkamagaluru labourer , who suffered a heart attack in the morning and travelled more than 130km in two vehicles for over eight hours before he got life-saving treatment late in the night.Sources said the 44-yearold labourer from Samse complained of chest pain at 11am on Monday. Since public transport was off the roads due to the Bharat bandh , he had to wait till 3pm to get an autorickshaw to reach the nearest town, Kalasa, by 4.30pm. The Kalasa hospital carried out preliminary investigation and put the labourer on an ambulance to Mangaluru by 7pm.The ambulance reached the coastal city by 10.45pm, and he was treated successfully at the Kasturba Medical College in the nick of time.The patient’s life could be saved because of an innovative programme — Cardiology at Doorsteps (CAD) — in which general practitioners in six districts get free expert advice on cardiac care from two eminent cardiologists. This quick communication network bridges the distance and collapses walls in discussions to fast-track medical treatment.Though the heart patient seemingly lost time in getting medical attention, he received the best treatment, thanks to Dr Padmanabh Kamath, professor and head of the department of cardiology at Kasturba Medical College. Dr Kamath said the labourer travelled 7km in a rickshaw and 125km in an ambulance to reach the Mangaluru hospital.The Cardiology at Doorsteps initiative has 250 practitioners working in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts, and the cardiologists are Dr Padmanabh Kamath and Dr Manish Rai.Dr Kamath said the labourer was examined by Dr Vikram Prabhu from Kalasa and an ECG was done on him. He had to be rushed to Mangaluru for further treatment. Because of the bandh, his travel was delayed. Once in Mangaluru, the labourer underwent angioplasty.“A youth who suffered a massive heart attack died in 2014 because of delay in diagnosis. This forced me to collect demographic details of villages, towns, nearest hospitals, primary health centres and database of doctors. After two years of compilation of information, we formed a WhatsApp group called ‘Savior’ and started using this platform to reach out to patients. We saved the labourer’s life, thanks to the CAD and Dr Prabhu from Kalasa, who took the right decisions,” Dr Kamath said, adding the doctors’ collective has saved many lives from the brink.Dr Kamath said they have handed out free ECG machines to 25 health centres in five districts in the region and 25 more centres will be covered in this programme by November. “High-end machines which cost Rs 46,000 will be distributed to regional centres that cover more villages. Ten more units will be distributed on Ganesha Chaturthi,” the doctor added.