Doctors at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI) performed a life-saving heart transplant on a 50-year-old male from Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
This 8th heart transplant at FEHI was made possible when a 21-year-old male, a resident of Jaipur, was declared brain dead at Eternal Heart Care Centre Hospital in Jaipur after being on life support for three days.
Flown to Delhi
The harvested heart was flown down to Delhi by an Air India flight and landed at T3 at 2:40 p.m. this past week. A green corridor was created covering a distance of 21.3 kilometres over 30 minutes at 2.55 p.m ., primarily due to heavy festival rush along the route.
The 50-year-old recipient who got the heart that was less than half his age, suffered from a condition called Cardiac ischemia. The condition relates to heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries which prevent adequate blood and oxygen reaching the muscles of the heart. It also often causes chest pain or discomfort known as angina pectoris.
“The recipient had undergone stenting twice, first in 2008 and subsequently in 2010. He also had an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) or a pace-maker recently in 2016. However, his condition continued to deteriorate rapidly and by now his ejection fraction (EF) was barely 15% as compared to a normal heart that has an EF of 55-60%,” explained Dr Z.S. Meharwal, Director, Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgeon, FEHI who conducted the intricate transplant.
The recipient had moved to stay in Delhi since the past two months after his health deteriorated rapidly.
The recipient was under the treatment of Dr. Vishal Rastogi, consultant and incharge, Heart Failure and Left ventricular Assist Programme, FEHI for his heart failure.
The Cardiac Transplant Team from FEHI flew down to EHCC Hospital, Jaipur and retrieved the heart from the donor at 1 p.m.. The police and traffic authorities immediately created a green corridor for transfer of the harvested heart in both cities. The heart was carried from Jaipur to Delhi in a passenger flight.
Dr Kousar Ali Shah, zonal director FEHI, said, “ We’ve come a long way since we conducted our first heart transplant at this unit in January 2015.”
