A 43-year-old man from Jalgaon was successfully treated for a congenital heart disease in the city last week. The disease had been undetected until recently when Hemant Badh, the patient, went to a local doctor in Jalgaon with complaints of sudden breathlessness, cough and chest pain.
“Normally, congenital heart defects are detected early and it’s rare that Badh managed to live so long without showing any symptoms till now. Tests showed that he was suffering from Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) and blood clots,” said Dr Suresh Vijan, interventional cardiologist, Fortis Hospital.
The blood clot led to frequent breathlessness as it would break away and enter the lungs. Dr Vijan added that Badh was lucky as the small blood clots which pass through the left atrium didn’t lodge in the brain which could have led to a stroke or affect the legs, eyes or kidneys.
Badh was administered a blood thinning medicine for two months. “We repeated a fresh ECHO which showed complete reduction of blood clot in the area making the hole visible. It was around 5 mm in diameter. Once the blood clot was cleared, we closed the PFO with an occluder device,” said Dr Vijan.
The cause of PFO is unknown and it cannot be treated unless there are other heart problems, or a stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain. Although PFO is fairly common, it is only discovered during other tests. “PFOs usually show no symptoms at all but we should carefully look for this defect in patients with atypical or unusual problems,” said Dr Vijan.
“Normally, congenital heart defects are detected early and it’s rare that Badh managed to live so long without showing any symptoms till now. Tests showed that he was suffering from Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) and blood clots,” said Dr Suresh Vijan, interventional cardiologist, Fortis Hospital.
The blood clot led to frequent breathlessness as it would break away and enter the lungs. Dr Vijan added that Badh was lucky as the small blood clots which pass through the left atrium didn’t lodge in the brain which could have led to a stroke or affect the legs, eyes or kidneys.
Badh was administered a blood thinning medicine for two months. “We repeated a fresh ECHO which showed complete reduction of blood clot in the area making the hole visible. It was around 5 mm in diameter. Once the blood clot was cleared, we closed the PFO with an occluder device,” said Dr Vijan.
The cause of PFO is unknown and it cannot be treated unless there are other heart problems, or a stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain. Although PFO is fairly common, it is only discovered during other tests. “PFOs usually show no symptoms at all but we should carefully look for this defect in patients with atypical or unusual problems,” said Dr Vijan.
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