New era in heart treatment

For the first time in the country, a mechanical heart implant procedure has been successfully performed, marking a new era in the treatment of heart disease in the country.

Dr Jahangir Kabir, chief cardiac surgeon and director of the Cardiac Center at United Hospital, placed a mechanical heart or Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) in the heart of a 42-year-old woman at the hospital on Wednesday. 

The patient was suffering from chronic heart failure, with her heart gradually approaching complete failure, even after receiving treatment at home and abroad.

In the current world of medical practice, the only treatment is to replace the almost dysfunctional heart with another healthy heart. However, if a healthy heart is not available while the organ's condition continues to deteriorate rapidly, then a mechanical heart implant or LVAD remains the only option. 

Upon completion of the procedure, the patient's heart regains blood circulation in the whole body, giving other organs in the body a chance to heal as well. 

On Wednesday, Dr Jahangir Kabir and his colleagues placed a mechanical heart called Heartmate-3 in the left ventricle of the patient's heart through a successful surgery, which was conducted for about 4 hours.

It restored the patient's heart functions to normalcy and is illuminating hopes of greatly reducing her risk of death and improving symptoms of heart failure.

  The same team of leading heart surgeons behind the procedure has performed successful heart surgeries on more than 15,000 people since the inception of United Hospital and brought smiles on the faces of patients and their families.