The 37 Military Hospital has successfully conducted its first-ever Dual Chamber Pacemaker surgery for a 47-year-old woman who has lived with a blocked heart for 12 years.
Heart block is a condition where the electrical impulses that control the beating of the heart muscle are disrupted.
The most serious type of heart block is known as complete or third-degree.
Heart block has symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations (irregular heartbeat), dizzy spells/fainting, and nausea.
Dual-Chamber Pacemaker is a type of surgery, which helps to correct the condition by carrying electrical impulses to the right ventricle and the right atrium of the heart to help control the timing of contractions between the two chambers.
The surgery does not allow the heart to dip below a programmed heart rate and ensures that the atrium – the top chamber of the heart – and the ventricle – the lower chamber of the heart – beat in sync with one another.
Colonel Dr Kwame Acheampong Adomako, the Head of Cardio Center 37 Military Hospital, addressing the media after the surgery, said the patient’s blocked heart was due to a family history of hypertension and diabetes.
He said because the patient was hypertensive and diabetic, the nerves that needed to carry messages to other parts of the body were unable to do so.
The Cardiologist explained that the electronic pulse generator implanted in the heart would help the patient live her normal life without any sudden cardiac arrest or death.
This means that the heartbeat has increased from 39-40 beats to 80-90 beats per minute.
Col Adomako said the successful surgery had given the Hospital the confidence to do more and urged Ghanaians to go for regular check-ups to help pick up some of those conditions early for timely treatment.
He expressed gratitude to the medical team that assisted in the success of the procedure.
The patient expressed appreciation to the 37 Military Hospital for the prompt attention given to her, adding that before her referral to the facility on Friday, June 23, 2023, she had been given up to Sunday, June 25 to live.
She narrated how she had an attack at a function and was advised to go for a checkup immediately.
“After my checkup at the SSNIT Hospital, I was asked to wait for a while because my condition was critical. My heart was beating slowly at about 39 to 40 instead of the normal of 70 to 80 per minute.
“I was later rushed with an ambulance to the 37 Military Hospital where I was told about the surgery right away, which was performed because it cannot wait,” she added.
The patient said she was currently well and doing everything without the help of anyone, adding that “initially, I could not walk even a small distance.
“After the surgery, I can confirm today that my condition has changed. There is nothing like dizziness and pain anymore as it used to be,” she narrated.
She urged Ghanaians to have faith in local health facilities for their health needs.
Her wife said he was happy with the success of the surgery, saying his wife had gone through a lot.