Golden hour cardiac assistance saves life of 63-year-old Mumbai businessman at Nanavati Super Speciality Hospitality

by Priya Jadhav

Despite a massive cardiac arrest at Mumbai Airport and spending 24 hours on ventilator, 63-year-old Ajay KumarMaroo was revived at Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital (NSSH) 

Cardiac experts said in an effective Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), followed by a critical surgery, proved lifesaving for Maroo. 

Mumbai: In a series of lifesaving efforts, Mumbai based businessman, Ajay Kumar Maroo (63) recently received a new lease of life at Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital. After suffering a massive cardiac arrest at Mumbai international airport, Maroo spent 30 minutes with no heart beat followed by more than 24 hour stay on ventilator in an unconscious state. 

Cardiac Surgeons said the over 30-minute long timely Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) followed by an immediate angiography to remove a 90% blockage, saved his life. Citing the case on World Heart day, cardiologists from NSSH stressed on importance of CPR training and golden hour medical care for patients with chronic cardiac diseases. 

Maroo—a Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) patient was on his way home from Kolkata when the incident took place. “We were at the food court area of domestic airport when he said he is feeling uneasy. I asked him to sit on a chair and quickly moved to pick up area at the terminal 1 to locate our car,” said Maroo’s son Rahul. 

“He started walking behind me and suddenly fell unconscious outside the food court. However, the emergency response team of Mumbai airport immediately came our rescue and started CPR,” Rahul added. 

The team gave him CPR for over 30 minutes followed by two cardiogenic shocks to revive him. Maroo was then intubated and shifted to NSSH in a cardiac ambulance. Upon arrival, he was immediately put on a ventilator in an unconscious state under the care of Dr Lekha Pathak, consultant, intervention cardiologist. 

“Due to cardiac arrest, his heart wasn’t able to pump enough oxygen rich blood to the brain. The patient had a history of CAD with 90% blockage in left LED artery. He was turned down by many hospitals due to the complexity in the surgeries as he is suffering from few other ailments as well,” said Dr Pathak. 

Within 24-hours of admission, Maroo underwent an angiography and an angioplasty during which the doctors had to restore the blood flow from his artery. “The surgery was successful and within a day, he was out from the ventilator and blood pressure medication. He was discharged after six days of hospitalisation and was kept under strict observation for two months to ensure he doesn’t develop any more complications,” said Dr Pathak. 

Dr Rajendra Patankar, Chief Operating Officer, NSSH, said the case shows importance of timely CPR and medical assistance in patients with cardiac arrest. “The chances of patient’s revival dips substantially with every minute of delay during CPR. We congratulate the paramedic team of Mumbai International airport since it’s rare to revive an individual after 30 minutes of non-activity. We are proud of our team of cardiologists, who successfully performed a critical lifesaving surgery,” said Dr Patankar. 

Rahul said his father is now completely fit and started working from about a fortnight. “He is a head of our family and thankfully due to the assistance of Mumbai airport and doctors from NSSH, he is back on his feet. On this World Heart Day, I hope each one of us is trained in life saving skills such as CPR, we will be able to save many lives,” he added.