Young mom with rare heart ailment cured

A 19-year-old woman suffering from a rare cardiac disease was treated without operation at SevenHills Hospital.

She was suffering from Lutembacher Syndrome, a rare cardiac condition in which people with defect in their hearts (atrial septal defect) have additional acquired valve disorder called rheumatic mitral stenosis. The patient often develops symptoms of palpitation, shortness of breath, feel tired and have repeated lung infections.

Dr Sanjay Rajdev, consultant cardiologist at the SevenHills hospital, said, “She had come to us under the Rajiv Gandhi Arogyashree Programme. During the clinical examination and radiological investigations it was revealed that she had a 24 mm hole in her heart. In addition one of her valves (mitral valve) was found to be narrowed significantly.”

Doctors said traditional treatment would have involved open heart surgery with surgical closure of defect and replacement of the mitral valve.

“She was scared to go for open heart surgery and wanted to have another child. Also she belonged to a remote village of Maharashtra where there were technical problems in putting artificial valve since this would require constant thinning of blood by using blood thinner Warfarin which could have lead to serious health related issues in her future pregnancy,” added Dr Rajdev.