Ocean in My Heart:When One Story Meets a Million Heartbeats | Rashmi Raghunath | TEDxKG Institutions

Quick Overview

Rashmi Raghunath shares her journey of overcoming a near-fatal diagnosis of Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) by launching the Catching Hearts Foundation, which successfully established free echocardiogram screening centers across India to detect congenital heart diseases (CHDs) in children, ultimately aiming to change the demographics of heart disease.

Key Points: Rashmi Raghunath was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) at age 17, a condition where thick heart muscles obstruct blood flow, leading to heart failure. She initially questioned her fate, asking "Why me?" and later embarked on a spiritual journey, including visiting Pushkar's Brahma Temple, to find purpose. Globally, 60-70% of the population is unaware of CHDs, which are the #1 birth defect; in India, awareness is even lower at 75-80%, contributing to 10% of infant deaths. Her foundation, Catching Hearts, established an MOU with a heart hospital to conduct free echo scans for children, paying the hospital a sum for the service. The foundation also partnered with community schools and NGOs to offer free screening services, successfully screening thousands of children. The screening study showed a significant increase in detection rates in India, moving from 10-12 detections per 1,000 children in 2020 to 25 per 1,000 today. The core goal of her work is to establish widespread screening centers to ensure every child receives the 'Right to a healthy heart' through early detection, which can save 90% of affected children.

Context: This TEDx talk by Rashmi Raghunath, titled "An Ocean in my Heart: When One Story Meets a Million Heartbeats," details her personal health crisis and subsequent pivot toward social entrepreneurship. In 2022, she was recovering from a viral fever when her father discovered her heart was failing due to HOCM. This life-altering diagnosis catalyzed her desire to find meaning, leading her to start the Catching Hearts Foundation to address the critical lack of awareness and accessibility for diagnosing congenital heart diseases (CHDs) in India.