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For the first time, doctors have performed the procedure without assistance from a visiting expert

Patients from Bihar do not need to visit hospitals outside the state for this treatment now

In yet another achievement for Paras HMRI, Hospitals, a team of cardiologists here have performed Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA), a complex treatment procedure to treat heart rhythm disorder on a 36-year-old woman. This is the first time this procedure has been performed by doctors in Bihar without the assistance or supervision of visiting doctors from outside.

The procedure was performed on Manju Devi from Shahpur, Danapur Cantonment who had a serious heart rhythm disorder in which her heart was beating at a rate of 200 heartbeats per second.

The patient found help after seeing many doctors and visiting many hospitals across the city, some of whom failed to diagnose the root cause of her condition. She then came to see Dr. Ajay Kumar Sinha, Additional Director Cardiology at Paras HMRI Hospital, Patna who diagnosed her case as that of arrhythmia.

A normal heart beats 60-100 times per minute, but if it starts beating too slowly or too fast or if the heartbeat is irregular or premature, the condition is known as Arrhythmia. Most sudden cardiac deaths (that happen suddenly within an hour of onset of symptoms) are caused because of abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias.

Radio Frequency ablation is a complex procedure that requires high level of skill and experience on the part of cardiologists and cardiac electrophysiologists.

“Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is an invasive procedure to treat various cardiac arrhythmias (Disturbances in heart beat in which heart starts beating very fast suddenly). RFA is definite and curable treatment for such disturbances in heart beat, after which no further medicine is required. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses heat generated from medium frequency alternating current (in the range of 350–500 kHz) to disable or remove the dysfunctional tissue of the heart,” explains Dr Ajay Kumar Sinha.

The procedure has been done previously in Patna by visiting Cardiologists from other States. However, this was the first time the procedure was performed by doctors from Bihar itself. The procedure involved a team of Cardiologists including Dr. Sinha, Dr. Anand Kumar, Dr. Dinanath Kumar, Dr. Shaheen under the guidance of Dr. Pramod Kumar (Director Cardiology, Paras HMRI).

“The fact that we have indigenously acquired the expertise to conduct this procedure means a lot for the patients of Bihar. This will start a new era in the treatment modality of cardiac arrhythmias in Bihar. The patients from the state who hitherto had to visit other states, most often Delhi and Kolkata for the treatment no longer need to travel long distances to undergo this procedure,” adds Dr Sinha.