Rheumatic heart disease: Doctors save mother, child

The doctors at Vivus BMG Heart Centre delayed the woman from going into full labour as they quickly performed a balloon mitral valvectomy and subsequently a Caesarian section to save the mother and childs’ lives.
The 20-year-old woman who hails from Kolar complained of difficulty in breathing and couldn't lie down just as she began contractions. She was diagnosed with narrowing of a heart valve (mitral valve) on the left side of the heart, which if unattended to immediately could lead to her lungs flooding with blood. While this cardiac complication is common, her symptoms worsened when she was in labour, said Dr S S Ramesh, Cardiologist, Head of Vivus Group India.We could not take many x-rays as it can affect the foetus, so we had to do most of the procedure without knowing the details an x- ray can provide, he said. After the balloon procedure was done, four hours later they performed a c-section as the foetus was in breech presentation. Both mother and child are well.