Man suffers heart attack, angioplasty done in eleven minutes!

Bengaluru: “I was not sure whether I will see the light of the day after that severe heart ache,” said 48-year-old Ganesh Ramakrishna, who was rushed to Fortis Hospital for suffering a severe heart attack. “On my way to my workplace, I felt that someone had just pulled my chest muscles and it was unbearable,” said Ganesh remembering that day.

He recalled he was sweating unusually, but he took it lightly thinking it was due to some gastric issues. “Then my chest pain increased and did not cease. When I reached office, I felt extremely weak and was unable to even lift the laptop,” Ganesh added.

He was rushed to his family doctor in R.T. Nagar, where the doctors conducted some test and diagnosed that he had suffered a heart attack. The referred him to Dr Keshava, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Fortis Hospital on Cunningham road. The cardiologists at the hospital performed an emergency surgery on Ganesh. They carried out primary angioplasty in a record time of eleven minutes and removed blocks in Ganesh’s coronary artery.

According to cardiologists, for every 10-minute delay a heart attack patient encounters, the mortality rate goes up by one per cent and this percentage doubles when the time gap between bringing the patient in and starting on treatment goes beyond 90 minutes. That is why when a person has experienced heart attack, door to balloon (D2B) time is most critical.

Regarding the primary angioplasty Dr Keshava said, “Every ten minutes the heart mortality increases by one per cent, which is a huge number and more the delay more the damage.”

The doctor further informed that despite the recommended time, which is ninety minutes after admission, doctors should ensure the minimum time gap. “We were lucky in his case as after admission the ECG, counselling and primary angioplasty was done in 11 minutes and all because both Ganesh and his family were an educated lot and agreed right away. Honestly, the family also wanted him to be fine and happy,” adds Dr Keshav who adds that his patient had a critical blockage of more than 90% and after two days in ICU and ward he was discharged without any complications. “I am ready to take on life with new gusto,” Ganesh said.