Cholesterol fuel build up treated in Mumbai's hospital

A person who faced a massive cholesterol rich fluid build-up around his heart - which was initially thought to be Tuberculosis - has been successfully treated at the Global Hospitals at Parel in Mumbai.

It was a medical issue involving ‘Chylous Pericardial Effusion’ due to the high cholesterol.

The patient, Shrikant Pawar, aged 55, who works in an automotive company, is leading a normal life now.

“I had no knowledge about this unknown entity and suffered a lot for over 2 months. I am fine now and have resumed my daily routine with ease,” said Pawar.

A team headed by Dr Praveen Kulkarni, Senior Consultant, Cardiology, Global Hospitals, treated the patient.

The patient was admitted to a local hospital for shortness of breath and chest pain. On evaluation, he was diagnosed to have pericardial effusion, a condition where fluid accumulates around the heart. He was put on antitubercular medication.

Thereafter, he visited the Global Hospitals while on anti TB treatment as he was having recurrent loss of consciousness.

Dr Kulkarni conducted a repeat 2 D Echo revealed pericardial effusion. Routine lab investigations were sent which showed elevated levels of cholesterol.

As the patient had significant pericardial effusion, it was decided to drain the effusion (Pericardiocentesis) and hence a fine catheter was placed in the pericardial cavity and 400 ml of thick and milky white fluid was drained.

“It was initially thought that this fluid was pus, but it did not correlate well with his clinical condition as having 400 ml of pus around his heart would have made him extremely sick. Further, the drain was draining this thick white fluid in large quantities on a daily basis. Detailed analysis of the fluid revealed extremely high levels of cholesterol in the fluid and a diagnosis of Chylous Pericardial Effusion was arrived at,” said Dr Kulkarni.

Chylous Pericardial Effusion is a rare type of pericardial effusion that occurs when a chyle, a milky fluid that is a mixture of lymph and fat (fat and carbohydrates eaten by you are converted to Chyle and transported through the lymphatic channels, accumulates in the pericardial cavity, the sac surrounding the heart. This condition is caused by the obstruction of the thoracic duct, the largest lymphatic vessel in the body, which transports chyle from the gastrointestinal tract to the bloodstream.