Ethekwini Hospital improves Ntombikhona’s life for free

NTOMBIKHONA Mnguni has been suffering from an arrhythmia (fast heart beat at more than130 beats per minute) since late childhood, but Ethekwini Hospital’s Dr Brian Vezi has changed her life for the better.

She was in this state of fast heartbeat almost 24-hours a day, every day. Her condition prohibited her from engaging in activities of daily living due to extreme fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath and constant awareness of the fast heartbeat.

Her condition deteriorated in 1990, during pregnancy. At the time she was attended to by Albert Luthuli Cardiac Unit and was offered the conventional radiofrequency ablation (a medical procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart is ablated using the heat generated from high frequency alternating current for the arrhythmia) at Albert Luthuli Hospital.

The hospital however, does not have the current electrophysiology equipment to deal with certain arrhythmias. Unfortunately, her specific arrhythmia proved extremely difficult to ablate due to the remote focus of the source.

She had two ablation attempts, which both failed. Recently Ethekwini Heart Hospital bought a state-of-the-art 3D mapping machine (EnSite Velocity Cardiac Mapping System) which makes ablation for the difficult arrhythmias a lot easier.

Ntombikhona could not afford this procedure in a private hospital, as she does not have medical aid. The Ethekwini Hospital’s administration, St-Jude-Amayeza, in collaboration with the resident Cardiac Electrophysiology team, agreed to do this procedure for free.

On 7 November Ntombikhona went for the treatment, which was a great success. She was discharged a day later in great spirits and highly grateful to the hospital and the entire team.

“I am doing very well. I am not dizzy or tired any more. I have never been better,” said Ntombikhona.