The YSR Aarogyasri scheme came to the rescue of a 22-year-old homemaker from Mominabad in Anantapur district after she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition that needed immediate surgical intervention for her survival.
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Shaik Zabeena Tabassum went to the KIMS Hospital in Kurnool with the complaint of chest pain and backache, along with breathlessness that lingered for two months. After an Echo test and a CT Aortogram, the doctors identified it as dissecting aortic aneurysm with a bicuspid aortic valve.
Consultant cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon K. Sandeep Reddy said it was a congenital problem seen in five in one million persons. “If bicuspid valve does not close completely, blood can flow backward into the heart. This regurgitation is also called aortic valve insufficiency. The heart then must pump out that same blood again, causing strain on the left ventricle,” he explained.
The doctor performed surgery on Ms. Zabeena Tabassum followed by eight days of hospitalisation. She is normal now, the doctor told the media. Cardiologist Ali Soudagar and anaesthetist Vijaya Sai assisted the surgeon during the surgery.
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The surgery was a difficult one as about 30% of the patients undergoing it do not survive. In Kurnool, this is the first successful case after two failures, said Ms. Sandeep Reddy.
“Usually, we see such cases in the age group of 50 to 70 years and those who are hypertensives. In general, the aortic valve has three leaflets. But, the patient had only two because of congenital problems,” the doctor explained. Ms. Zabeena Tabassum thanked the State government for coming to her rescue through the Arogyasri scheme, otherwise the treatment would have cost her ₹10 lakh.