Young Heart Attack Patient Saved using Optical Coherence Tomography at Narayana Health City

27 year old software professional, Mr. Rafeek was leading a normal life until recently. One day suddenly he developed chest pain and was rushed to a nearby hospital. It was found that Mr. Rafeek suffered heart attack for which he was given adequate treatment. However, the search for an advanced treatment facility led him to Narayana Health City. The expert team of doctors under the aegis of Dr. Sanjay Mehrotra, Senior Consultant – Cardiology, Narayana Health City did a complete evaluation of the patient’s condition and found that he was suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD) with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). He underwent a coronary angiogram which showed a blockage (stenosis) of 80% in one of the main arteries of the heart called Left Anterior Descending (LAD) and was planned for an angioplasty and stenting.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is new technology which is used Near Infrared Light (NIR) to visualise the inside of the heart arteries. Optical Coherence Tomography allows ten times better visualization than Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) which has been a method used to see the inside of heart arteries for a long time. OCT gives a much better resolution and exact information about the nature of the plaque, extent of narrowing of the coronary artery and helps to choose the size and length of the stent better.

Speaking about the case, Dr. Sanjay Mehrotra, Senior Consultant – Cardiology, Narayana Health City said, “India today is experiencing a rapid transition in the disease burden and is gradually moving towards a scenario where majority of the deaths are caused by lifestyle diseases. In order to combat the rising incidence, we need to strengthen preventive measures by adopting healthy habits. However, there are times when disease is already there and one needs to effectively treat the disease which needs proficient diagnosis and precise treatment. Technologies like optical coherence tomography help in treating such conditions with more precision.”

“In case of Mr. Rafeek,with the help of OCT we were able to evaluate the diseased portion of the artery clearly as in his case there was Ruptured plaque which precipitates a heart attack was present in an area which cannot be seen on conventional angiography and failure to do so would have resulted in incomplete coverage which in turn would have lead to complication of stent occlusion and repeat myocardial Infarction (heart attack).” added Dr. Sanjay.

Sharing his joy, Mr. Rafeek said, “While I suffered heart attack, my wife was nearing her delivery date and it felt like everything around me is coming to an end. I never imagined that I would be back with my wife celebrating the birth of our child. Today, I am not only getting better but leading a normal life again, thanks to the Narayana Health City. I am so grateful to Dr. Sanjay and his team for giving me a new life specially using this new technology in my case. One thing that I have learned from my own personal experience is that there is a reason why our ancestors lived a healthy life, it simply because of the discipline they followed.”

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are posing huge social and economic concerns in India, and the steady upswing in the mortality attributed to CVDs is challenging. To prevent India from becoming the heart disease capital of the world, there is a need to bring a necessary shift in social behaviour and instil ‘healthy living’ as a norm. The responsibility also lies with the medical fraternity to leverage newer techniques which can effectively manage the disease and improve clinical and patient outcomes, eventually reducing the burden.

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