Three persons, all aged between 40 and 50 years, had life-threatening heart attacks that turned out to be total blocks of the coronary arteries. The patients were treated using advanced techniques at the Vanagaram Apollo Specialty Hospital.
Annamalai, a field engineer, had breathing issues while climbing stairs. He had suffered a myocardial infarction in 2017, resulting in low pumping efficiency of the heart.
An angio at the Apollo Hospitals revealed three blocks in his coronary artery — a case of total occlusion, in which the coronary artery was completely blocked. The blocks were cleared and two stents inserted. He is now leading a normal life.
Prabhakar Sharma, a 50-year-old video analyst, was brought in a serious condition, with pain in the left shoulder and chest. His family physician advised him to consult intervention cardiologist P. Harikrishnan at the Apollo Hospitals.
Mr. Sharma was admitted on June 8 to the hospital’s intensive care and soon lost consciousness. He underwent complex coronary intervention to get the blocks removed and was supported with a pacemaker. He is back to his normal life, and can climb 50 steps with ease.
On May 21, city-based journalist Balaji was rushed to a hospital, after complaints of chest pain. He was advised a bypass surgery. But doctors said it was a high-risk procedure. An angiogram revealed he had multiple blocks.
He was shifted to the Apollo Specialty Hospital in Vanagaram, where he underwent a complex coronary intervention procedure to get the blocks removed through angioplasty. “My surgery was done under the CM Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme,” Mr. Balaji said. K.A. Abraham, senior cardiologist and the hospital’s director of medical services, said such serious occlusions of the blood vessels usually required open heart surgeries. But with the advent of angioplasty, opening the heart had become unnecessary. The technique employed for all three patients is known as coronary revascularisation.
‘Improper lifestyle’
Dr. Harikrishnan said, “Coronary artery disease is an epidemic and has been increasingly seen in the younger population in India. This is mainly due to improper lifestyle and bad food habits.”
Tomahika Teramoto, a pioneer in the field of complex coronary intervention in Japan, trained doctors at the Apollo Hospitals on the technique.
