Media Release
Mangaluru, May 5: KMC Hospitals Mangaluru became the first in coastal Karnataka to perform a rare procedure on a critical heart attack or myocardial infarction (MI) patient. This unique interventional cardiology technique called Thrombus Aspiration from coronary vessels was performed under the expertise of Dr Narasimha Pai D, consultant interventional cardiologist, KMC Hospitals, Mangaluru and his team on Suneetha Achary, a 68-year-old patient who suffered a heart attack.
Once the patient reached the hospital, the doctors put the patient on emergency medical therapy immediately. She developed ventricular tachycardia (Fast heart rate) which was controlled with medicines. A coronary angiogram was done emergently to check for blockages in the coronary arteries (blood vessels of heart). The angiogram revealed that right coronary artery was blocked with heavy thrombus burden (clot).
Dr Narasimha Pai D, consultant interventional cardiologist, KMC Hospitals, Mangaluru, who performed this procedure said, “After her angiogram, we performed the conventional angioplasty with wiring and balloon. However, post balloon angioplasty, repeat angiogram revealed heavy clot burden. This patient required thrombus aspiration. However the hardware required for the same is costly. With inputs from the cathlab team headed by Ganesh, we decided to go ahead with this novel technique of thrombus aspiration using guide catheters successfully. By doing so, we avoided the use of costly equipment and hence the cost of treatment. ”
While this procedure is not new to India, very few trained cardiologists are known to perform this. “In this case, stent was not found essential after clot aspiration. The patient has had a good recovery and was discharged last week. This technique is very useful in young patients or in those with MI (heart attack patients) who have large clot burden and are not ideal case for stent implant. It also has immediate relief with no extra cost of costly thrombus aspiration hardware,” concluded Dr Narasimha Pai D.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Anand Venugopal, medical superintendent said, “I congratulate the entire team on successfully bringing this novel technique to coastal Karnataka and more so, closer to patients in need. The Cardiology department of KMC Hospitals is well equipped with modern technology and world class infrastructure, thereby helping us become front runners in coronary intervention cases in this part of the country.”