The CMCH medical team and Dean A. Nirmala (second left) with the patient who underwent a Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy-Defibrillator implant recently.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) authorities on Wednesday stated that it became the first government hospital in Tamil Nadu to have successfully implanted a Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy-Defibrillator (CRT-D) device on a patient with heart failure.
The pacemaker device was implanted by the Department of Cardiology on a 54-year-old patient from Tiruppur, Saravanakumar, who had been suffering from severe cardiac failure.
He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit due to an irregular heartbeat called ventricular tachycardia on January 2. The doctors found out that the patient had sought treatment several times with episodes of irregular heartbeats.
For a cure from these recurring episodes of irregular heartbeats, the patient had already undergone dual chamber pacemaker implantation at a private hospital in Tiruppur.
Since the patient continued to suffer from recurring episodes of irregular heartbeats and heart failure, even after the dual chamber pacemaker implantation, the CMCH medical team decided for a CRT-D implant. The procedure was done on January 24. The patient recovered from the surgery and was discharged, said CMCH Dean A. Nirmala.
According to the medical team, CRT-D helps in regulating irregular heartbeat. It is a specialised device for patients, who have heart failure or are at risk of sudden cardiac death. Upon sensing any abnormal heartbeats at a dangerous rate, the device delivers an electrical shock (defibrillation) to the heart and thus eliminates any abnormal heart rhythm.
The procedure was done free of cost under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme whereas the procedure costs upto ₹10 lakh when done in private hospitals, said the medical team.
Head of the Department of Cardiology J. Nambirajan, cardiologists D. Chakkravarthi, J. Jegadeesh, A.N. Senthil, K. Sathish Kumar and D. Manikandan performed the procedure.
Published – February 05, 2025 08:51 pm IST