Fortis Escorts Heart Institute implants a pacemaker in a 102 year old lady from Panipat, giving her a new lease of life. The operation was led by Dr. Aparna Jaswal, senior consultant in the department of cardiac pacing and electrophysiology, with a team of cardiologist and anaesthetists performing the surgery in a record time of less than 20 minutes.

This is the first female patient  reported case of implant in a woman aged 102 years, in India. The earlier two cases have been on 105 years old, men, and were performed at PGI, Chandigarh at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. This is also the first pacemaker implant of 102 year old patient by a private hospital and India’s third reported case of pacemaker implant in a 100 plus year old patient.

The patient, Maya Devi resides in Panipat suffered a stroke and had a sudden collapse at home following a condition where her pulse rate had dipped down to 30. The normal rate is 65 - 80 beats per minute. She was rushed to the emergency at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.  The surgery involves inserting passive leads into the heart through a blood vessel running under the collarbone. The passive leads are tested to make they are functional and attached to a generator.

Explaining details of the procedure, Dr. Aparna Jaswal said, “Given the patient’s age, we spent a lot of time in preparation and to ensure that the time on the operation theatre table during the surgery is as less as possible. This helps to reduce any complications or infections during or post-surgery.  Additional care was also taken in choosing the hardware so that the patient of this age can withstand the surgery. We put in passive leads and implanted an MRI compatible pacemaker for any further medical interventions that may be required.”

Added Dr Jaswal, “What contributed immensely in this patient was that was living a simple and healthy lifestyle, she had no comorbid conditions and no diabetes or hypertension, making it very rare phenomena for her age.  She is ready to be discharged and can resume her day to day life as before.”

Dr. Riaz Ahmad Malik, Senior Anaesthesiologist added that, “For a patient of her age, we take great care to ensure that anaesthesia is given by expert hands. There are chances that the patient is unable to withstand the effect of the anaesthesia, leading to a multiple organ failure. We are satisfied with the progress she has made and wish her the best.”

Dr. Somesh Mittal, facility director, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute said, “We are pioneers in the field of cardiology and are at the forefront of several ground breaking developments in cardiac procedures for adult and paediatric. We are delighted to achieve yet another milestone as such a case has not been attempted in any private hospital in the country.”

The great grandson of the patient, Sazal Dua said, “We are very thankful to the doctors at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute and are grateful to them for saving the life of my great grandmother. As a fourth generation, we are fortunate to have a great grandmother in our family and are blessed with her presence.”