Young at risk: Boy writes boards with pacemaker, teen gets stent

Kolkata: Akash Dey (16) from Coochbehar was rushed to a Kolkata hospital a few days before his Madhyamik board examination. Doctors found complete heart blockage, uncommon at such a young age. Five days after a life-saving pacemaker implantation, the boy wrote his board examination. On Thursday, he came to the hospital for a follow-up, and doctors said all is fine with him.Despite persistent fatigue, dizziness, breathlessness, and frequent near-fainting episodes, the teenager from Kholta village was busy preparing for his examination. But when his condition worsened, his parents rushed him to Manipal Hospitals Mukundapur.Interventional Cardiologist Parijat Deb Choudhury diagnosed him with complete heart block. If left untreated, it can reduce blood flow to vital organs and become life-threatening.The doctor performed a permanent pacemaker implantation on Jan 27. Globally, less than 1% of pacemaker recipients are under the age of 18."While complete heart blockage is seen more commonly in the elderly, it is rare in a 16-year-old. In young patients, symptoms like persistent fatigue, dizziness, or fainting are often overlooked, which can delay diagnosis. What stands out in this case is not only the success of the surgery, but also the patient's spirit," Deb Choudhury said.Akash responded well and went back home to write his board examination that began on Feb 2.Bengal govt's Swasthya Sathi scheme came to the rescue of the family with modest income, with the hospital ensuring the treatment under this scheme. "I am thankful to the hospital and the doctors for making it possible for me to appear for my Madhyamik exams," said Akash, who came back for the check-up on Thursday.In another case, a 19-year-old boy from Basirhat was rushed to Manipal Dhakuria a few days ago after a massive heart attack. He had collapsed while playing football. Angiography revealed a completely occluded left coronary system. Despite 3 episodes of cardiac arrest during angioplasty, he was successfully revived, and interventional cardiologist Soumya Kanti Dutta and his team performed left main bifurcation stenting successfully. "Coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction occur in people above 40–50 years. A 19-year-old developing a severe coronary event is extremely uncommon, particularly in the case of this patient, who is a non-smoker, non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, with no family history of cardiac diseases," said Dutta.