An Allama Iqbal Medical College (AIMC) alumnus was recently recognised for his contribution to healthcare by a newspaper in the United States. The Macon Telegraph featured Dr Ahmed Ijaz Shah (graduate of AIMC class 1995-96), a cardiologist serving as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mercer University School of Medicine.
He, together with a cardiac surgeon, used a minimally invasive technique to place a ventricular assist device (tandem heart) for the first time in Middle Georgia. The device was used in a critically ill 80 year old female who suffered a heart attack, leading to failure of the right ventricle to pump blood to her lungs and causing other parts of her body to shut down.
The ventricular assist device was used to pump blood artificially, bypassing the failed right ventricle of the heart (right ventricular assist device or RVAD). Given the patient's age and a variety of physical ailments including low blood pressure and failing kidneys, the patient was unlikely to survive open-heart surgery. The device is only used as a short-term fix for a few days which is usually enough time for the patient's heart to heal on its own, while not exposing the patient to the risks inherent with open-heart surgery.
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