In September 2019, FV Hospital timely regained the life of Mr R.O., a French, 42 year old man, who suffered from a heart attack. FV’s Accident & Emergency admitted Mr R.O. who was in a very dangerous cardiac condition; being comatose due to ventricular fibrillation (cardiac arrest) and having some symptoms such as chest pain and dyspnoea. He was treated by using a defibrillator and his life was saved.

After that, Mr R.O. had a photo of his coronary arteries taken, and the result showed that the right coronary artery branch was completely obstructed. Dr Do Thanh Long, who works in FV’s Interventional Cardiology Dept. and the surgical team, administered a Lumen Endotracheal Tube, breather and angioplasty intervention to put a stent in for the patient. In the process of putting in the stent, Mr R.O. suffered from ventricular fibrillation 6 times and the surgical team administered the defibrillator and artificial respiration on each instance. After an hour full of pressure and challenges, the procedure was completed, and the patient recovered quickly. Mr R.O. became conscious, having no complications with his chest pain and dyspnea being significantly reduced after the intervention. Dr Thanh Long said that ventricular fibrillation happens when the heart beats fast, having abnormal electrical impulses. This makes the ventricular chamber vibrate uselessly instead of pumping blood. In ventricular fibrillation, the blood pressure decreases suddenly and breaks the source supplying blood to important organs. If this situation is not treated and intervened immediately, it will endanger patients’ lives.  Stent technique are used through the skin to treat the condition quickly and make coronary arteries to circulate again. This is one of the optimal methods for those patients’ suffering from coronary obstruction.

The advantages of coronary arteries intervention are that it is non-invasive, requires no anaesthesia, is safer and more efficient. However, after undergoing the coronary angioplasty procedure or stent, patients should ensure they have a healthy lifestyle, having a good diet, and taking up physical exercise to enhance the efficiency of the treatment as well as restrict the danger of relapse to a minimum.

A heart attack is a dangerous condition threatening people’s lives, with a death rate in Vietnam of up to 25% – 30%. The risks to the elderly are higher and to those who have anamnesis. One of the efficient ways to prevent this condition is having a healthy life: not smoking, controlling diabetes well, controlling blood pressure diseases well, exercising regularly, low-saturated-fat diets, low cholesterol diets, among others. 

To make an appointment and learn more about cardiac diseases, please contact: (028) 5411 3467 or (028) 5411 3333 Exr: 1216 / 1165