New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS): A 45-year-old woman from Nepal who visited a hospital at the national capital with a history of breast cancer treatment was saved from having a sudden cardiac death with the help of a heart failure prevention device called CRT-D.

The device, while functioning as a normal pacemaker to treat slow heart rhythms, enables the heart to pump blood more efficiently.

The patient's case highlights that many risk factors could lead to heart failure including some medications.

"The patient received chemotherapy after surgical excision of a lump in her breast. She developed heart failure and her ejection fraction dropped to 20-25 per cent (55-60 per cent in a normal person) and was severely breathless," Subhash Chandra - Chairman, Cardiology, BLK-Max Heart Centre, said in a statement.

"The patient was given a heart failure prevention device -- CRTs -- to improve her symptoms and avoid the catastrophic consequences of sudden cardiac death due to cardiac arrhythmias," he added.

According to Chandra, there are multiple risk factors of heart failure and chemotherapy proved one of them in her case.

"But modern-day technologies available for heart failure, such as CRT-D, is helping patients survive without compromising on their quality of life," Chandra said.

The term 'heart failure' is commonly referred to as a condition where the heart doesn't pump blood as efficiently as it should in an individual of that age group.

Heart failure is a major health problem worldwide affecting about 12 million people.

About a million new cases of heart failures are added annually the world over. It is the leading cause of hospitalisation in people older than 65 years.