Cardiothoracic surgeon C. Prabhakara Reddy performed a delicate procedure, Intra Aortic Balloon Pulsation, to 75-year-old K. Vijayabhaskara Reddy after coronary artery bypass grafting in Kurnool general hospital.
Intra Aortic Baloon Pulsation was performed to increase coronary blood flow when blood pressure was not maintained inspite of drugs in post CABG and myocardial infarction, Dr. Prabhakar Reddy told The Hindu. Using a catheter, a baloon inflated with helium gas by a machine console is injected from the abdomen to regulate heart beat in diastole to increase coronary blood flow and save the heart, he added. Synchronised with the ECG, the balloon would inflate and contract with each heart beat.
The balloon was used for nearly 24 hours to regulate the blood pressure and ensure proper blood supply to the heart to Mr. Vijayabhaskara Reddy of Kambaladinne village in Yemmiganur mandal and was removed later on, Dr. Reddy said. The baloon costs ₹30,000 and the machine costs ₹22 lakh, but IABP was performed free of charge under NTR Vaidya Seva scheme, he said.