Man gets heart after 10 attempts

Chennai: Sekar A. (54), a mechanical engineer from Puducherry, returned home from hospital disheartened 10 times in the last two years, when the hearts were found to be unsuitable for transplantation. Two weeks ago, he finally got a new heart from a 17-year-old brain dead person. Says Sekar, “I experienced breathlessness in 2005, when I could not jump over two steps to go to my flat on the first floor, which I usually do. I was then diagnosed for heart failure and was under medication for four years, at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research. Meanwhile, I quit smoking and alcohol, which I have been indulging in for over 20 years.”

Until 2009, he lived with 36 per cent heart function, by compromising on his daily routine and through medication. Sekar then approached Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute with a complaint of severe breathlessness, where he found to be hyperthyroid. “The treatment for the thyroid problem corrected the thyroid issue, but not the heart problem. The cause for the heart problem could not be identified.

Meanwhile, the anti-failure measures also did not give a good result and the situation became worse, leaving him to go for heart transplantation,” says Dr P. Manokar, Associate Professor of Cardiology, Sri Ramachandra University.He was immediately registered for the transplantation programme and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fixed in him. The device is programmed to detect abnormal heart rhythms and correct them by delivering a brief electrical impulse to the heart, adds Dr T. Periasamy, HoD of cardio-thoracic surgery. Sekar had nine episodes and he survived through electrical shock by the ICD.

About repeated attempts for heart transplantation, Dr Periasamy says, “Everytime when a call is received, Sekar would be admitted for the transplant. But, it failed all the time as the hearts were not eligible and were prone to infections or diseases in the future.” He recalled one of the attempts, where a heart of a 30-year-old woman, which is supposed to be a healthy, could not be transplanted as it was found after harvesting to be functioning improperly.

This time, the call was received from Apollo Hospitals on November 26 around 1 am. After other organs were harvested from the 17-year-old brain dead boy, who met with an accident, the heart was harvested around 8.30 am. It was brought to the hospital within an hour and transplanted in the next 45 minutes.“The size of the heart is always a challenge in a heart transplants. In India, the BMI of the donor and the receiver is calculated. The weight and height of the duo should not exceed 10 kg and one foot,” says Dr J.S.N. Murthy, cardiologist and vice-chancellor of the university. He adds, Sekar was 71 kg and the donor was 78 kg and both were the same height.