City hospital claims to use smallest heart pump

New Delhi: Doctors at a city hospital claimed to have used the world’s smallest heart pump that supports failing heart to recover for the first time in country.

A team of doctors, led by chairperson, cardiovascular sciences, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Dr Ashok Seth performed India’s first “protected angioplasty and stenting procedure” with support of ‘impella heart pump” on June 26 on a patient suffering from dangerous blockages, who was at extreme high risk for bypass surgery.

The doctors highlighted that it could provide hope for treatment to numerous patients, who are in cardiogenic shock after heart attack or have to undergo high-risk angioplasties or surgery because of weak hearts.

The new device is the arguably the world’s smallest heart pump, which can support a failing heart for up to seven days and sometimes, longer.

The device is like a catheter and works on the principle of submersible water pump, it is a thick as a pencil and approximately six inches long.

Unlike other devices (which are large and need a surgery to implant), this particular device can be inserted directly into the heart without the need for a surgery percutaneously through the groin artery in the cath laboratory; it can provide blood flows of 2.5 litres to 3.5 litres per minute.

According to Dr Seth, the heart pump can support a failing heart due to heart attack or myocarditis for up to seven days or even longer till it recovers.

“It can also be used to support the heart in cases of high risk angioplasties where an operation is considered risky, Dr Seth added.

It has been proven to support the heart to improve safety of the procedure. When the procedure is over, the device can be pulled out and removed as it is like a catheter. The device has been in use in the US and Europe for the past few years and has been introduced into India recently,” said Dr Seth.