Bengaluru: A 37-year-old police officer from Oman, Muscat has endured many stints in hospital, some of them severe, over the last three years. His trouble: Chronic heart failure, with frequent exacerbation. However he got a new lease on life at a city hospital after doctors performed a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implantation surgery on the officer.
Sadam (name changed), had difficulty with even the simplesr exertions. It started harmlessly enough, he recalls, with “a chronic cough and wheezing.” The situation worsened so much, he could barely finish a couple of sentences without wheezing and could do little in his own life without help.
A comprehensive evaluation revealed that his left ventricular function was just 15% (Normal Left ventricular function is 55%). A cardiac catheterisation test was performed and data showed he was not a suitable candidate for a transplant. In view of his clinical condition, he was advised to undergo LVAD implantation.
LVAD is a battery-operated, mechanical pump device that is surgically implanted. It connects the patient’s failing left ventricle to the aorta. It draws out blood for the patient’s weakened left ventricle and pumps it into the patient’s aorta. An important pre-requisite for implantation of an LVAD is a normal right ventricular function since the LVAD can support only the failing left ventricle.
LVAD implantation for Sadam was performed by Dr. Bagirath, Dr. Julius, Dr. Varun Shetty and a team at Narayana Health City.
Speaking about the case, Dr. Bagirath Raghuraman, MD, DM (Cardiology), Program Director Heart Transplant at Narayana Health City said, “Mechanical circulatory support devices have become important options in the management of both acute and chronic heart failure conditions. Its value can be gauged from the fact that it is available off the shelf at short notice and is lifesaving in those patients on life support equipment waiting for a donor’s heart.”
Commenting on the rise in prevalence of patients living with chronic heart failure, Dr. Julius Punnen, Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic and Transplant Surgeon at Narayana Health City who operated on Sadam said that the cases of heart ailments are now being detected better and that is one reason why the reporting seems higher. “Over the years, treatment techniques have now progressed that helped in detecting these conditions in advance and treat them. Rising cases of obesity are also a trigger,” he said.
Doctors say that the patient has responded very well to the LVAD device. “His condition has improved dramatically from the time he was admitted and now he can manage his work on his own. We will continue to monitor the patient periodically,” they added.
