Aster Hospital treats you well

Expert Heart Repair

Learn about the cardiac surgeries performed at Aster Hospital from Dr. Pradeep Nair Specialist Cardiac Surgery, Aster Hospital, Al Qusais

Cardiac surgeries performed in Aster Hospital

1. Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery or bypass surgery — We perform bypass surgery without stopping the heart. It is called the Beating Heart Surgery or Off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass (OPCAB). In addition, in younger patients, we prefer to use only arteries for bypass surgery, which is known as ‘Total arterial grafting on the beating heart.’

2. Valve repair and replacement surgeries. We will conduct multiple valve replacements up to three valves

3. Corrective surgeries/repair of structural deformities of the heart by birth — including surgical closure of Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation, Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) total correction etc.

4. Removal or excision of intracardiac tumours — Opening of the heart and removing tumours from inside the heart, like excision of right or left atrial myxoma.

5. Surgical release of myocardial bridge

6. Aortic Root Replacement

7. Ruptured Sinus of Valsalva (RSOV) Repair

New procedure technology pioneering

Total arterial grafting on a beating heart

Congenital heart defect (CHD)

CHDs are defects in the structure of the heart present at the time of birth and can affect the structure of a baby’s heart and the way it works. They can affect the normal blood flows inside the heart compartments as well as out to the rest of the body. CHDs can vary from mild, such as a small hole in the wall separating the compartments of the heart — ASD, VSD etc., to severe like missing or poorly formed parts of the heart.

Risk factor

CHD has a significant association with advanced age, bad obstetric history, febrile illness during pregnancy, and a folic acid-deficient diet.

Prevention

Since we know little about the causes of congenital heart disease, there's no guaranteed way of avoiding having a baby with the condition or otherwise congenital heart disease is often impossible to prevent. Avoiding toxic exposures during pregnancy prevents some CHD. Similarly, avoiding certain infections during pregnancy, such as rubella (preventable by immunisation), can prevent some CHD.

However, the following advice can help reduce the risk:

- Ensure you are vaccinated against rubella and the flu.

- Take 400 mg of folic acid supplement a day during the first trimester (first 12 weeks) of your pregnancy — this lowers your risk of giving birth to a child with congenital heart disease, as well as several other types of birth defect.

- Check with your GP or pharmacist before you take any medicine during pregnancy, including herbal remedies and medicine that's available over the counter.

- Avoid contact with people who are known to have an infection.

- If you have diabetes, make sure it's controlled.

- Avoid exposure to organic solvents, such as those used in dry cleaning, paint thinners and nail polish remover.

Latest Tech to Treat Patients

Aster Hospital has the necessary equipment to help achieve a healthy heart. Dr. Naveed Ahmed Specialist Interventional Cardiology, Aster Hospital, Mankhool, tells us more

What are the latest diagnostic tools and treatments related to Cardiac Care available at Aster?

In non-invasive cardiology — we conduct Stress Echo, Transesophageal Echo, Holter Monitoring including seven-day electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring with just a small band on the chest and remote device monitoring.

In interventional cardiology — we have the most recent modalities for functional assessment of coronary lesions like Fractional flow reserve (FFR), instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR)/ Resting full-cycle ratio (rFR). We have calcium modification devices including rotational and orbital atherectomy and Intravascular Lithotripsy, Intravascular imaging with high definition Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) to guide and optimise angioplasty and vascular closure devices to close the femoral artery after angioplasty.

What complications for heart health have developed due to the pandemic?

We have seen an increasing number of heart attacks during the pandemic and most importantly, the heart attacks associated with Covid-19 have significantly large amounts of clots compared to those without Covid-19.

Also, there was an increasing number of complicated Covid-19 patients with heart failures due to weakened hearts as a result of myocarditis and arrhythmia.

Prevention Better than Cure

Dr. Sachin Upadhyaya, Specialist Cardiology, Aster Hospital, Mankhool, on the hospital’s patient approach

What precautions can people take to avoid heart disease? How to identify a heart attack?

As far as precautions are concerned I would like to quote Inter Heart Study, which was done globally to identify the risk factors of a heart attack.

The study revealed that nine risk factors account for the occurrence of 90 per cent of heart attacks in the population. These eight risk factors, which need to be avoided are:

- Hypertension

- Diabetes

- High cholesterol levels

- Obesity

- Smoking

- Unhealthy diet

- Sedentary lifestyle

- Psycho-social Factors

Less intake of fruits and vegetables is also considered to be a risk factor.

Any unexplained chest pain, breathlessness with or without sweating can be a symptom of a heart attack.

Any unexplained pain in the shoulders, arms or jaw also needs medical attention for evaluation.

How is Aster celebrating World Heart Day?

Aster Hospitals runs a series of heart awareness programmes throughout the year, which include patient hand-outs, counselling in the hospitals, public lectures, and social and print media campaigns.

To mark World Heart Day, we have a series of communication from our expert team of cardiologists, interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. We do our best by implementing preventive cardiology programmes to make patients more aware and knowledgeable and by screening the risk factors.

- At Aster Hospitals, we have a three-step approach to cardiac care.

- First and foremost is to help patients prevent the heart attack

- Treat it fast if it happens

- Do our best to help prevent any further attacks.

Listen to your Beat

Dr. Debabrata Dash, Consultant Interventional Cardiology, Aster Hospital, Mankhool on what residents should be cautious of in the case of heart diseases

In the UAE, what are the statistics for heart disease? Who is at most risk?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the principal cause of death in the UAE, constituting approximately 40 per cent of total deaths with people often getting affected a decade earlier than those in other developed nations. Its high incidence stems from the prevalence of risk factors like abdominal obesity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, and high cholesterol. According to the latest survey, the most common risk factors are high blood pressure (46 per cent), stress (45 per cent), cholesterol (44 per cent) and sedentary lifestyle (44 per cent). Obesity and diabetes are reported to affect 35 per cent and 30 per cent of CVD, respectively. Right now more than 60 per cent of the people in UAE who have CVD are regular smokers. According to the latest survey, the most common risk factors are high blood pressure (46 per cent), stress (45 per cent), cholesterol (44 per cent) and sedentary lifestyle (44 per cent). Obesity and diabetes are reported to affect 35 per cent and 30 per cent of CVD, respectively. Right now more than 60 per cent of the people in UAE who have CVD are regular smokers. Despite this high level of awareness, more than 50 per cent of UAE residents report that they have not had their heart health checked for more than two years.

The threshold of heart attack incidence has started falling between 30-40 years at Aster Hospital, Mankhool Dubai, the youngest so far is a 24-year-old lady. The incidence of heart attack is higher and earlier in the Asian population. Smoking, stress, genetic factors and an unhealthy lifestyle could be major contributors.

What are common heart diseases in UAE? What can residents do to avoid these?

Common heart diseases in UAE include coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, valve disease, hypertensive heart disease, congenital heart disease. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common heart disease caused by plaque buildup called atherosclerosis. If the plaque breaks, platelets clump and clog the artery leading to a heart attack which can damage part of the heart muscle warranting angioplasty as soon as possible. Angina, another symptom of CAD, manifests as pain or discomfort in the chest, arm, neck, stomach or jaw that happens when the blood supply to the heart becomes restricted because of narrowing of arteries.

What is important is that almost 80 per cent of deaths occurring due to CAD are entirely preventable with greater community education, awareness, early detection and intervention where high-risk factors can be addressed. This would include weight reduction, healthy food choices, avoiding high sugar and high-fat diet, quitting smoking and regular exercise. It is critical for an individual above 30 years to get screened for early detection and modification of risk factors to prevent CAD.

With Aster Hospitals Comprehensive Preventive Health Check-up Program (PHC) , you can now reduce your risk of potentially falling ill. All you’ve to do is fix an appointment with our Aster PHC team comprising of trained physicians, nurses and customer service executives who will guide you as to what proactive measures have to be adopted to ensure your physical, emotional and physiological well-being.

To book an appointment at Aster Hospitals, visit www.asterhospital.com or call 04 440 0500

Aster Hospitals offers super-speciality Heart Care at the following locations in Dubai:

Al Mankhool | Al Qusais | Jebel Ali | Opening soon in Sharjah