ANANTAPUR: In a first in Anantapur, doctors at KIMS Saveera implanted an intracardiac defibrillator in a complicated heart surgery on a 58-year-old man. The device gives a new lease of life to patients who are at a higher risk of sudden death due to life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.
The patient had come to the hospital with complaints of repeated episodes of giddiness, and was diagnosed with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy -- a disease in which the heart muscle (myocardium) becomes abnormally thick. The thickened heart muscle can make it harder for the organ to pump blood. So an ICD implant was a must for the patient’s survival.
Dr. Rakesh Naik V, one of the doctors who performed the surgery, said, “Sudden cardiac deaths are a major health concern in India. There are many instances of people dying suddenly while running, playing football or any active sport. Implantable defibrillators are the right solution for such people.” Speaking about the case, Dr Kiran Kumar Reddy of the hospital said: “Once we diagnosed the issue, we put the patient on loop ECG monitoring, and monitored him for 5 days as he carried on with his normal life. The results showed episodes of ventricular tachycardia (heart rate 280/min) sustaining for 12 seconds. We performed a dual chamber insertion on the patient.”