Man with rare co-occurrence of brain haemorrhage & heart treated successfully

Gurugram, Nov 12:  A 67-year-old man was given a new lease of life after doctors at Manipal Hospital here successfully treated him for brain haemorrhage and heart attack that occurred at the same time.

The patient was brought to the hospital with a complaint of headache and chest discomfort. After several blood tests, brain scanning, and evaluation it was found that the patient was suffering from internal bleeding inside his head which was the major reason for the headache. It was also found that he also suffered a heart attack which made the situation even worse, resulting in blackouts, chest pain, and other discomforts, the hospital said in a statement on Friday.

In a two-day long procedure, the doctors began with a surgery called intracranial coiling to control the patient's internal bleeding inside his head.

"Usually, in brain bleeding cases any blood thinner medicines have to be stopped immediately to avoid further bleeding, that is haemorrhage but, in this case, the same could not be done as the patient had suffered a heart attack which made the surgery even more complicated," said Col (Dr) Monik Mehta, Chief & Sr Consultant Interventional Cardiology, Manipal Hospital, Gurugram, in the statement.

Thereafter, as the patient's heart condition deteriorated due to chest pain and low blood pressure, the team opted to perform a lifesaving heart procedure -- coronary angioplasty.

"When the patient came to the hospital, he already had a history of severe headaches and blackout. This was a complicated case because the line of treatment for both these surgeries is different and requires immense experience. The treatment modality was very critical, as any wrong treatment could have harmed either the heart or the brain," Mehta said, adding that both surgeries were successful, and the patient was saved.

"He is now doing well and is leading a healthy and normal life," Mehta noted.