Pushpa Gupta has been bed-ridden for the last seven years with chronic heart failure. The poor pumping mechanism of the heart hampers the functioning of the liver and kidneys as well due to inadequate blood supply. Chronic heart failure eventually results in the patient’s death unless a heart transplant takes place.

Puspha, who was in the terminal stages of heart failure, got a respite of sorts on September 6, 2005, when Dr. Sudhir Vaishnav, cardiologist at the Asian Heart Institute, Bandra -Kurla complex, performed a 45 minute minimally invasive procedure and strapped on a cardiac recovery system to her for five days. The resultant improved circulation could well have added over a year to her life, while she waits for a heart transplant.

In the US, it is estimated that half a million new patients of chronic heart failure are added every year, In India, the numbers could be more, said Dr. Ramakant Panda, CEO of Asian Heart, but awareness and detection for the diseases poorer than in the US.

Shawn O’Leary of Orqis, which manufacturers the cardiac recovery system, says, ”In the US, we have got requests from some patients for a repeat five day session. Moreover, we are working on a new pump that can be implanted inside the patient,” he added.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ‘in March 2004 concluded that the device is an effective treatment for decompensated chronic heart failure.