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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : April 21, 2018 1:00 PM IST
A 62yr old man was rushed in to the Emergency Room(ER)at S.L Raheja Hospital A Fortis Associate after experiencing multiple episodes of Ventricular Arrhythmias, commonly cited as abnormal or quick heart beats in the lower chamber of the heart. He was brought in after unsuccessful treatment at another hospital where he had received Multiple shocks (almost delivered once every 10 to 15 minutes in the last 12 hours)to correct his condition, which had left him with superficial burns. From the ER,the patient was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where a team led by Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, Head of Intensive Care Unit at the hospital, quickly took charge.
Doctors evaluated the patient on various parameters, where he was found to be in a condition called as Sympathetic Storming (here the patient show bizarre heart rhythm with very low or absent blood pressure reading, continuously) warranting continuous shocks to keep him alive. A 2D Echo revealed Ischemic Heart Disease and Hypertension, which the patient was unaware of. His consciousness levels kept fluctuating; the repeated low blood pressure had also pushed him into Kidney failure. With the previously failed treatment,his condition was deteriorating quickly; this potentially could trigger respiratory, cardiac and renal failure.
Doctors at the hospital quickly progressed into the treatment,counselled the family, subsequently his two sons consented for the patientto beinducedinto coma, while continuing Hemodialysis (Kidney dialysis machine). On further evaluation of the 2D Echo, a previous heart attack scar was noticed which could be the reason for the bizarre rhythm. It was assumed that the patient would have had heart attacks in the past, manifesting as chest pains, which he probably would have ignored.
The patient was kept under observation at the ICU and pulled out of Coma after a week of treatment. His recuperation began and his condition became stable; importantly, the irregularities with the heart had ceased. No brain damage was reported, in spite of having received multiple shocks.
Speaking about the case, Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, Head of Intensive Care Unit, SL Raheja Hospital A Fortis Associate, said, "The patient was brought in a critical condition due to the shock treatment.His bizarre heart rhythm warranted continuous shocks to be administered to him,despite that, the abnormal rhythm reverted within few minutes. We evaluated his condition, counselled the family and proceeded to induce the patient into Coma, where the patient is taken into a very deep state of unconsciousness temporarily, with controlled anaesthetic drug delivery".
Press Release
Image: Shutterstock (For representational purposes only)
