A 45-year-old woman, working with the Income Tax Department, was on her way to work when she started experiencing pain in her back and chest and was sweating profusely.
She immediately called her family physician to seek an appointment to visit his clinic.
An ECG was conducted and it was revealed that she was experiencing a massive heart attack. She was immediately rushed to the Emergency Department at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, but she became unresponsive in the car on their way to the hospital.
She was brought to the Emergency Department while in the state of cardiac arrest. A team of doctors led by Dr Sandeep Gore, Head of Emergency Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, immediately began administering Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation(CPR) on the this patient.
Chest compressions were initiated and the patient was then intubated with ongoing CPR; necessary life-saving drugs were also administered. At intervals, the patient was administered shocks under continuous CPR assessment; it was after a duration of 60 minutes that the doctors were able to revive her. She was then moved to the CathLab where a Primary Angioplasty was conducted by Dr Hasmukh Ravat, Senior Interventional Cardiologist at the hospital.
It is understood that if the patient gets revived after prolonged CPR of 30 minutes, their neurological outcome is poor. Generally, patients do not have positive neurological impact after such a prolonged CPR episode, which is given only for a few minutes, but in this case, the patient beat all odds.
Good clinical acumen and timely intervention was the key to her survival. Doctors at the hospital concluded that there was no neurological deficit; it was noted that the patient responded positively to treatment and was discharged within seven days, she is now recuperating well.
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As per the guidelines for a person having cardiac arrest outside the hospital, one should give CPR for up to 20 minutes. The success rate of CPR patients who get cardiac arrest outside the hospital and are then taken to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest is just 5%.
Also, according to a study it is said that by 2030, India will have up to 60% percent of the world's total cardiac arrest patients which nearly accounts four times of the total population of the world. In India, more than 10 million cardiac cases are reported annually, especially with the age group of 60 year and above, are more affected by cardiac arrest.
Speaking about the case, Dr Sandeep Gore, Head of Emergency Department, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, said, "This case is a classic example to establish that chest and back pain should not be taken lightly; it is important that one gets evaluated in a timely manner to understand the root cause. In this case, CPR was given for more than 60 minutes, which is exemplary; the patient has done well and has been discharged with no neurological deficit. Timely medical intervention and clinical acumen are the key to having positive outcomes in such cases.