A 108-year-old Indian has become the oldest man in the world to undergo angioplasty.
Muniyappa, a resident of Narsapura, Kolar, had been admitted for chest pain and breathlessness at St John’s Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore.
He was attended to by a team led by Dr Kiron Varghese, head of the cardiology department of the hospital.
They performed angioplasty on him on February 15.
On being admitted, he was diagnosed to have suffered a mild heart attack and underwent an angiogram, which showed 90 per cent blockage in the main artery and 80 per cent blockage in his left circumflex artery.
These blockages were life-threatening. Muniyappa had significant chest pain, which used to limit his routine activities.
After getting consent from his family, the doctors went on with the angioplasty, which was a success.
Two platinum chromium drug-eluting stents were implanted in his heart arteries. Muniyappa is doing well and was discharged on February 20.
Other instances of oldest patients who underwent angioplasty are a 97-year-old from Kolkata, a 91-year-old from London and a 104-year-old man from Noida.
There is no published reports of any patient older than 104 years who had undergone angioplasty in the world.
Kiron Varghese said elderly patients delay seeking treatment and have increased rates of atypical symptoms, nondiagnostic electrocardiograms, and multiple comorbidities (the presence of one or more disorders in addition to a primary disease or disorder).
“Despite these problems, evidence from the medical literature shows that coronary angioplasty is a viable option for elderly patients and can enhance the quality of life,” he said.