Doctors at Apollo Hospitals in Navi Mumbai managed to revive a 61-year-old woman who suffered five major cardiac arrests while in the emergency room (ER). “She was revived through cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by an expert team of critical care specialists and later she was intubated through a ventilator, and inotropes as well as drugs that regulate the heartbeat, were administered,” said a doctor.
Diagnosis revealed complete blockage in coronary stent
Once her heart and breathing were stabilised, a coronary angiogram was performed, confirming the presence of blood clots in two critical arteries of her heart. A complete evaluation and tests led to a diagnosis of a complete blockage in her coronary stent – a condition known as stent thrombosis.
Stent thrombosis is a severe complication that can be cured using percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), which is a minimally invasive procedure used to unblock coronary arteries. Clinical expertise is required for evaluating the condition, and immediate action is necessary to restore blood flow to the blocked vessels of the heart or the condition can be fatal.
Had to take immediate steps to revive and stabilise: Doctor
Dr Gunadhar Padhi, consultant critical care specialist, Apollo Hospitals, said the patient's condition was critical due to multiple challenges in her heart as she had acute myocardial infarction, left ventricular failure, cardiogenic shock, and complete heart block. “We had to take immediate steps to revive and stabilise her. She was put on intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) therapy. We also performed an angioplasty to unblock the arteries and increase the ability of the heart to pump more blood. The patient then underwent a successful angioplasty along with other interventions, including the implantation of a temporary pacemaker to regulate her heart rate and arterial thrombus aspiration to remove blockages,” he said, adding that her recovery was smooth and she was shifted to the ward on the third day.
Timely intervention helped revive patient: CEO, Apollo Hospitals
Santosh Marathe, regional CEO (western region), Apollo Hospitals, said, “Timely intervention and care helped revive and stabilise her quickly so that necessary medical intervention could be done. The patient's successful revival even after five consecutive heart attacks in the ER and her subsequent treatment and recovery is testament to the highest standards of cardiac care and rehabilitation we provide at our state-of-the-art ER through our highly qualified ER, cardiac surgical, nursing, and paramedical teams.”
