47-year-old IVF mother with life-threatening heart disease delivers safely at CARE Hospitals, Hitec City

Doctors at CARE Hospitals in Hyderabad successfully managed a rare and high-risk IVF pregnancy complicated by severe rheumatic heart disease. A multidisciplinary team ensured the safe delivery of a preterm baby while keeping the mother stable throughout treatment

Hyderabad: In a rare and medically complex case, doctors at CARE Hospitals, Hitech City, managed a high-risk IVF pregnancy complicated by severe rheumatic heart disease, ensuring the safety of the mother and the baby, an outcome considered extremely challenging in medical practice.

The 47-year-old woman presented to the emergency department at 31 weeks and three days of pregnancy with severe breathlessness and persistent cough. Doctors suspected an underlying cardiac condition, and diagnosis confirmed Chronic Rheumatic Heart Disease (CRHD) with severe mitral stenosis, along with mild involvement of other heart valves and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

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A multidisciplinary team comprising cardiologists, obstetricians, anaesthesiologists, intensivists and neonatologists worked to balance maternal safety while prolonging the pregnancy to improve fetal outcomes. An elective Lower Segment Caesarean Section (LSCS) was performed under combined spinal and epidural anaesthesia to minimise cardiac stress. The surgery was uneventful. The baby was born preterm but stable, and the mother remained haemodynamically stable throughout the peri-operative period.