Bengaluru: Mohammed Abdullah a 56-year-old Yemeni national was living each passing day with the fear of sudden cardiac death. He had sustained a massive heart attack, six months ago, which had weakened one wall of his heart, causing a rare condition called a large ventricular aneurysm, which is an out-pouching of the main chamber of the heart. In his case, the abnormal out-pouching was so large that it mimicked the main chamber of the heart, giving it the appearance of a ‘Double- Heart’ which was non-contractile and did not have a pulse.
After many rounds of consultation with numerous doctors in Egypt, the Middle East and even India, he met Dr Adil Sadiq, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Sakra World Hospital, Bangaluru, who offered him the solution of repairing the heart and went through Endoventricularplasty of the left ventricle of the heart along with the bypass surgery, which forms less than 1% of all the heart surgeries performed. Essentially the abnormal out-pouching of the heart was removed and heart was shaped back to normal. Without the surgery, there was great risk of sudden unprovoked rupture of the double chamber.
In war-torn countries like Yemen, the patients often suffer due to the lack of quality medical care. Lack of medical intervention can often result in loss of life. When Abdullah finally came to Sakra World Hospital he had almost given up the hope of survival. He had a history of diabetes and hypertension for ten years. He suffered from heart attack 4 months ago and was did not receive any immediate medical attention. When this combined with the out-pouching of the ventricle reduced the pumping capacity of the heart drastically. Gradually, he started developing weakness and shortness of breath along with chest pain. When he came to Sakra his pumping power of his heart was only 30% when compared to the normal of 60%.
“Abdullah had visited various countries in search of a remedy to his unique condition. The abnormal out-pouching could rupture at any given moment without surgical intervention. The major challenge was the size of the out-pouch which was bigger than the actual size of the heart. We had to conduct a dual procedure which included both Endoventricularplasty along with the bypass surgery to ensure the heart went back to normalcy”, said Dr Adil Sadiq.
“I came over here hoping to find the new source of life. For my everyday work was challenging and difficult and I am so glad that after this procedure I can go back to working in my farm in Yemen,” said Mohammed Abdullah.
Ten days after the procedure, he was back on his feet and ready to return to his hometown in the war-torn country of Yemen, with a new fervor for life and sans the everyday fear of uncertainty.
