Specialist doctors at KIMS Hospitals have corrected elevated heart rate of a 35-weeks pregnant woman before performing delivery on emergency basis. Apart from cardiac arrhythmia, the 28-year-old woman had COVID too. The mother and newborn were in good health.
The woman’s heart was beating at 186 beats per minute, which is a dangerously elevated heart rate. ECG confirmed that she had a condition called Atrial Tachycardia (arrhythmia). This led to weakening of her heart muscle and the woman developed heart failure.
The doctors said that despite array of medications, the arrhythmia persisted which has put the life of the woman and her foetus in danger.
The patient was put on ventilator and 3D mapping of her abnormal rhythm was done. The abnormal focus was found and eliminated by radio frequency ablation.
The senior cardiologist and Director Division of Pacing and Electrophysiology at the hospital, Dr B Hygriv Rao said, “Spotting abnormal rhythms in a person isn’t all too difficult. Since the woman was pregnant they were concerned as the radiation from the procedure can prove to be detrimental to the foetus.”
The doctors said that the 3D mapping procedure also makes sure that in such fragile cases, baby is protected from the radiation.
Following ablation, emergency caesarean section was done by obstetrician Dr Vasundhara and her team. A pre-term baby weighing 2.2 kgs was delivered.
The child was then immediately put on ventilator by paediatric intensivist and was subsequently being managed in the paediatric intensive care unit. The mother and her baby were in good condition.
