A seventeen-month-old baby became the youngest child in India to undergo a life-saving open chest surgery on 22 July, doctors announced.
Thomas (name changed), who was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease, was operated on by doctors at Coimbatore's G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital following four episodes of syncope.
A syncope is a sudden fainting or passing out that happens because of restricted blood flow to the brain.
Thomas was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, which causes unexpected, fast, and irregular heartbeat. If left untreated, Long QT Syndrome could lead to ventricular fibrillation, which can cause the heart to pump so hard that it literally gives up and stops pumping blood.
In the worst-case scenario this could lead to a sudden death.