Medicare Hospital performs Cobalt CRTD implant

Srinagar,  Aug 04: Medicare Hospital, Srinagar, has successfully implanted the first Cobalt CRTD device in the Upper north Region of India in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy.

This patient had an ejection fraction of 20%, LBBB, QRS width of 190 msec  and a history of loss of consciousness. He was discharged the next day and is doing well.

The procedure was performed by the renowned interventional cardiologist Dr Syed Maqbool. Dr. Syed Maqbool has an experience of nearly 500 CRTP/CRTD implants.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common cause of heart failure. It is a common cardiac disease in which the heart muscle becomes weak and the pumping of the heart (EF) decreases, leading to heart failure. There are numerous underlying causes of this condition. A few common among them are idiopathic, ischemic heart disease, and viral infections. Common symptoms of this disease are shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of body, and sometimes loss of consciousness, leading to markedly impaired quality of life, recurrent hospitalization for heart failure, and sudden cardiac death.

Hence, the disease has very high morbidity and mortality if not treated properly and in time.

Various treatment modalities for this disease, in addition to the treatment of underlying causes if any,  are medical therapy, CRTP/CRTD implantation, conduction system pacing, and last of all cardiac transplantation.

Few patients improve with medical therapy, but many require cardiac resynchronization therapy in the form of CRTP, CRTD, or conduction system pacing. It is pertinent to mention here that all DCM patients do not benefit from CRT.  CRTP/CRTD is like a pacemaker wherein three leads implanted into the heart through veins are connected to a generator, which is planted under the skin on the left side of the chest. This device improves pumping of the heart, symptoms, and survival and prevents cardiac sudden death.