State-of –the art care at Hero DMC Heart Institute saves patient after 14 heart attacks

Ludhiana, October 11, 2024: A 56-year-old woman came to the Emergency Department at Hero DMC Heart Institute with severe chest pain that had lasted for several hours. The medical team quickly diagnosed her with a serious heart attack. To save her life, they gave her a special medicine to break up the clot that was blocking her heart arteries.

However, within 24 hours, her condition got worse. She developed life-threatening heart rhythm problems and had to receive multiple electric shocks to get her heart back to normal. Despite medications and a temporary pacemaker, her health kept declining. The doctors then used a device called an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) to help support her blood pressure, but she remained in a critical condition.

As her condition worsened and she needed frequent electric shocks, doctors put her on a ventilator to help her breathe. Because of how sick she was, it was too dangerous to do further heart tests or procedures. After discussing with her family, the medical team, it was decided to use a life-saving treatment called VA ECMO. This machine helps support the heart when it's not working properly.

With the help of VA ECMO, her condition started to improve. Her blood pressure stabilized, and her heart rhythm returned to normal, so no more shocks were needed. This allowed the doctors to safely perform an angiography (a heart test) on 23rd September, which showed two blocked heart arteries. They immediately placed stents in the arteries to restore proper blood flow.

After the stent procedure, she continued to get better. The next day, the doctors were able to remove the VA ECMO machine, and by 25th September, she was taken off the ventilator. Over the following two days, all other support devices were removed as her heart function improved. She made a full recovery and was discharged five days later.
 
Bipin Gupta, Secretary, DMC&H Managing Society, acknowledged the efforts of  team and said that Hero DMC Heart Institute is equipped with cutting-edge diagnostic tools and advanced treatment options, offering a comprehensive range of services from preventive cardiology to complex interventions. HDHI has modern catheterization labs, providing high-quality care for angiography, angioplasty, and other interventional procedures.

Dr G S Wander, Principal, DMC&H, extended his congratulations to the Hero DMC&H team for their accomplishment.

Dr. Bishav Mohan, Chief Cardiologist, Hero DMC Heart Institute, who led the patient’s treatment, commented, that, the use of advanced techniques like VA ECMO gave us the vital support we needed to stabilize her condition. Our goal was not just to save her life but to ensure a full recovery and we are grateful for the positive outcome.

The patient was deeply thankful for the care and support provided by HDHI team.