27-year-old new mother recovers after critical heart failure at Gandhi Hospital

A 27-year-old woman has recovered at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital after developing severe respiratory distress and Peripartum Cardiomyopathy following childbirth. Doctors said timely intervention across hospitals in Gajwel, Siddipet and Gandhi Hospital helped stabilise her condition and support her recovery

Hyderabad: A 27-year-old new mother who was admitted to Gandhi Hospital with critical heart failure has successfully recovered.

Sadhupalli Pravalika developed severe respiratory distress just a day after giving birth and was diagnosed with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) complicated by severe pulmonary edema, with her heart’s ejection fraction dropping to 35-40 per cent.

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When she was admitted to Gandhi Hospital on September 19, her oxygen saturation had fallen to 80 per cent, requiring immediate intubation and mechanical ventilation, hospital doctors said.

A multidisciplinary critical care team at Gandhi Medical College initiated mechanical ventilation, cardiac support, diuretics and targeted therapies. The patient responded rapidly and, by September 20, she was successfully extubated and transitioned to intermittent CPAP. Her vital parameters, cardiac output and renal functions steadily improved.

Pravalika initially received care at the Government Hospital in Gajwel, was escalated to GMC Siddipet for secondary management and was finally rushed to Gandhi Hospital for advanced tertiary critical care. Timely intervention across the chain — from Gajwel to Siddipet to Gandhi — saved her life, doctors said.

As of Wednesday, Pravalika is conscious, oriented and stable, tolerating an oral diet and undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation. The Department of Critical Care Medicine, led by Dr Kiran Madhala, along with Dr Rajasri, DM residents and the nursing staff, was involved in the treatment.