Getting second chance in their sunset years

Talking to media persons on Thursday, Dr Sai Satish, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, showcased the impact transcatheter therapies can have on the lives of patients who are suffering from heart-related conditions. The therapies include MitraClip, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) or Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI). With high incidences of hypertension, obesity and diabetes, there are about 4.6 million persons with heart ailments in India. Of the 4.6 million patients, 30 per cent die in hospital and 44 per cent are readmitted within 6 months of discharge, according to studies.

Talking to DT Next, the doctor said that there is a complacency in treating patients above 80 years of age. “They are often told that they shouldn’t be put through treatment owing to their age. However, one must understand that their quality of life is important.”

Sardhal underwent Mitraclip procedure, which repairs the mitral valve by clipping its leaflets together. She, today, plays badminton with confidence. This, too, is done in a cardiac cath lab via a vein in the leg. While TAVR or TAVI is a minimally invasive procedure to replace the aortic valve in which a flexible tube housing the new collapsed valve is inserted most commonly through the femoral artery and delivered to the heart, replacing the old diseased valve. 

On the other hand, a rotablator is a small drill (that rotates 200,000 times/min) and is small enough to fit in an artery and strong enough to drill through the calcified blocks. As the rotablator breaks up the blockage, it grinds into tiny pieces that can be safely carried away by the bloodstream thereby restoring blood flow. “The procedures were done a few years ago and today we wanted to take the opportunity to show that we could make a difference to the lives of these patients,” Dr Satish added.

He stressed on the facts that life after 80 is far more spirited. “Don’t ignore 80 or 90-year-olds. Life and death is not the important part, quality is important. Results are sustainable,” he added.