All chest pains don’t mean a heart attack

Professor Raman was enjoying his retirement, by spending time on his new hobby, gardening. Suddenly he felt some pain in the abdomen. He became giddy and started to sweat profusely and before his family could take action, became unresponsive.“ I thought it was a heart attack”, said his daughter-in-law who rushed him to a nearby hospital, “but the ECG was normal.” Professor Raman regained consciousness, but his blood pressure continued to drop and his abdomen started bulging. In this condition he was rushed to MIOT where a 750 HD CT Scan revealed the cause of his problem – a leaking Aortic Aneurysm.

What are Aortic Aneurysms?

Aortic aneurysms are abnormal dilatations (bulges) of the aortic blood vessel, which carry blood to the body. The bulge can occur either in the chest or in the abdomen. As the aneurysm expands in size they cause discomfort to the patient in the form of chest /abdominal/back pain. Aneurysms can be critical if they burst. This results in heavy bleeding into the chest and abdomen. In fact patients with a ruptured aneurysm have a poor chance of survival. Many of them die before they reach the hospital!

Aneurysms can be fatal

Traditionally such aneurysms are treated by open surgery where the Cardio Thoracic surgeon opens the chest or abdomen and replaces the diseased aorta with a new graft. Open surgeries have their own problems and require a long hospital stay.Professor Raman was fortunate that not only did he reach MIOT in time but he had access to an experienced team consisting of a Cardio Thoracic Surgeon, Interventional Radiologist and Interventional Cardiologist.

A Keyhole Procedure

The team decided on an Endovascular Stent Graft to treat the aneurysm. A small groin incision was made and the graft was taken through the femoral artery and placed across the aneurysm to stop the bleeding. The whole procedure was done under anaesthesia in the CATH Lab. Once the graft is successfully deployed, check angiograms are done. Patients are monitored in ICU for 24 hours. Because it is a minimally invasive procedure, patients recover fast and are back to routine activities within one week.

Professor Raman was discharged in next 3 days, looking forward happily to his next session of gardening!

Dr. V.V. Bashi, M.S, MCH, FIACS, FACS
Cardio Thoracic Surgeon
MIOT Centre for Thoracic and Cardiac Care

Dr. K. Murali, MD.P.D.C.C.
Interventional Radiologist

Dr. E. Satish Kumar, M.D, DNB (Cardiology)
Interventional Cardiologist
MIOT Heart Revive Center