Fifty five-year-old accountant Vinod Kumar fainted in his office on Christmas Day. Colleagues rushed him to Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals only to be told that his heart had ruptured inside his body — a fatal complication that occurs rarely, only among 1-2% of patients suffering a cardiac arrest.
‘Was feeling weak’
Now stable after a life-saving surgery, Mr. Kumar had no history of any cardiac ailment and the ECG ruled out heart attack as the cause of his condition.
His family said that Mr. Kumar had been feeling weak and feverish for a couple of days before collapsing at work.
Speaking about the case at a press conference here on Friday, Dr. Mukesh Goel, senior consultant, Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgeon, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, said, “An echocardiography revealed that thick fluid had collected around his heart, compressing it. Because of his precarious condition, emergency operation was planned to excise the surrounding layer of the heart [pericardium] to evacuate this fluid.”
Wounded heart
“But during the surgery, the moment the pericardium was opened, instead of thick pus-like material, blood clots gushed out in huge quantity and then fresh blood began gushing out with speed.”
It was during the operation that doctors found that Mr. Kumar’s heart had sustained a wound causing blood loss and compression over the heart – a condition that can be fatal even before detection. Dr. Goel added, “We deduced he had a wound somewhere in the heart. He was quickly put on the Heart-Lung machine, which takes over the heart and lung functions, facilitating cardiac surgery. The heart was inspected thoroughly and an inch-long wound found on the back of the left ventricle.’’
The doctor said that this was a spontaneous rupture of the free wall of the left ventricle, which happens only in 1-2% heart attack patients. His heart was then arrested by injecting potassium and the wound repaired.
‘Not to be ignored’
Doctors explain that this case is vital to understand that — heart attack can manifest in multiple ways and even just feeling unwell should not be ignored, especially if one is above 40.
“Mr. Kumar has made full recovery without any complications and will be discharged from the hospital soon,” said Dr. Goel.
