Kashmiri woman gets new lease of life, thanks to an 18-yr-old patient from Tamil Nadu

Shahzadi Fatima from Srinagar was suffering from worsening heart failure symptoms due to a condition called Restrictive cardiomyopathy. It is a condition where the chambers of the heart become stiff over time.

A heart from an 18-year-old brain-dead donor was transported over 350 kilometers to Chennai to provide a fresh lease of life to a 33-year-old Kashmiri woman suffering from terminal heart failure. The woman had travelled 3000 kilometers herself for her treatment to MGM Healthcare in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Shahzadi Fatima from Srinagar was suffering from worsening heart failure symptoms due to a condition called Restrictive cardiomyopathy. It is a condition where the chambers of the heart become stiff over time. She was admitted to the hospital with severe signs of heart failure on December 31 last year.

Doctors treated her with isotropes and other medications but her only hope for survival was an early heart transplant. Luckily, on January 26 this year, a suitable donor was found and the heart was transported through a green corridor. Fatima lives with her brother, who is a daily wage worker. He was not able to bear the cost of the transplant, so it was supported by Aishwarya Trust, a non-profit healthcare organisation in Chennai. Moreover, MGM Healthcare also helped by carrying out the transplant at a subsidised cost.

Chitra Viswanathan, the founder of Aishwarya Trust said, “It was a meaningful way for Aishwarya Trust to celebrate Republic Day by funding the lady's heart transplant on 26th January 2022,” Chitra Vishwanathan, founder of the organisation said.

Dr. Ravikumar R, Senior Consultant & Clinical Lead for the Cardiology & Heart Failure Program at MGM Healthcare said, "Heart failure is an under-recognized problem in India. The quality of life and longevity of end-stage heart failure patients who are not responding to conventional therapy can be improved by advanced procedures like heart transplant and Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD)."

(With inputs from PTI)

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