Ahmedabad, Jun 8 (IANS): When 107-year-old Jamnaben (name changed) suffered a heart attack, her family was determined to bring her to Ahmedabad. They undertook an eight-hour long road journey from their native village in Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh and brought her to the Marengo CIMS Hospital where her angiography showed a severe 99 per cent blockage of the arteries.

A frail Jamnaben presented a significant challenge in conducting angioplasty to restore the normal functioning of her heart. But the doctors surmounted the challenge and treated this very elderly patient.

The team was headed by Keyur Parikh, interventional cardiologist and chairman of the hospital, who was assisted by Chintan Sheth, cardiac anaesthesiologist.

In the case of Jamnaben, the challenges were beyond age. The radial interventional procedure needed the patient to be healthy enough for the doctors to find a radial artery in the wrist.

Parikh said, "Age should never be a limitation to healthcare delivery. The average longevity in India is increasing and is almost at par with Japan and Norway positioned at 74 years and 81 years, respectively (in women). With the changing face of healthcare system, our goal is to deliver healthcare to our geriatric patients just like we do to the younger patients."

The family expressed gratitude, saying: "We want our great-grandmother to live many more years. Since the day our grandfather was treated at this hospital for the same procedure, we were sure that our great-grandmother will also recover fast."

According to studies, about 40-50 million people in India suffer from Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and nearly 15-20 per cent deaths are caused by IHD -- a condition when the arteries are narrowed and less blood and oxygen reach the heart, rendering it weak. This ultimately results in heart attack.