A father of three, and in his late 50’s, Mr. Shoaib Iqbal was leading a normal, healthy life, and had no apparent medical complaints. He held a senior management position in the airline industry, and had an active social life, which sometimes meant late dinners and busy engagements. It was the morning after one such engagement that Mr. Shoaib’s had a scare with his heart.
He had gotten up early in the morning, as was his daily practice, to offer the morning prayers, when he complained of feeling some heaviness in the chest, but given the late night, dismissed it as simple indigestion. However, when things started getting worse, and he experienced breathlessness, Mr. Shoaib and his wife got extremely concerned and rushed to The Aga Khan University Hospital’s Clifton Medical Services (CMS).
When Mr. Shoaib was rushed in, the CMS team’s first action was to measure his vital signs, including his pulse, blood pressure, temperature etc. Though the measurements were in normal ranges, Mr Shoaib mentioned he was feeling suffocated while lying down, and within a few moments, his breathing became irregular and he collapsed.
His heart had stopped working.
The medical team at CMS took immediate action, and gave him first aid to revive his heart. They were successful after 20 minutes of CPR when Mr. Shoaib’s health became stable.
CMS is a Medical Centre, and not a hospital, and does not boast of an Emergency Department. However, it has a 24/7 Urgent Care Centre which is set up to deal with conditions that are urgent, but non-life threatening, such as minor injuries, rashes and sprains etc. This is where Mr. Shoaib’s condition was managed; however, further treatment required a move to the main AKUH campus on Stadium Road.
The CMS team immediately put the wheels into motion, to move him to the Main Campus. Despite the heavy morning traffic, the AKUH medical team was able to transfer Mr Shoaib in a fast and timely manner. Meanwhile, necessary arrangements were made by t
he Heart, Lungs and Vascular team who were ready to receive Mr Shoaib and get him immidiate care.
The consultant referred to Mr Shoaib’s case was Dr. Osman Faheem, Assistant Professor, Cardiology. Dr Osman discussed in detail Mr. Shoaib’s condition and treatment options, with his wife, Mrs. Naila. He listened to her concerns and after a thorough discussion and analysis, Mrs. Naila put her trust in the AKUH Heart, Lungs and Vascular team and asked them to take the course of action they thought was best for her husband.
Bearing the responsibility of the family’s trust in them and the Hospital, Dr. Osman and team successfully performed an angioplasty to treat Mr. Shoaib’s heart condition. After the surgery, the hospital staff kept their patient’s needs at the forefront, giving him the best possible care during his stay and detailed instructions for home care, after discharge.
Applauding the hospital staff’s commitment to quality and timely, efficient and highly responsive care, Mrs. Naila said,
“I have been coming to The Aga Khan University Hospital for the last 10 years, and once again they have reinforced my trust in the institution”.
Today, Mr. Shoaib is recovering well, and extending his trust in AKUH with his follow-up care and therapy.
