A cold heart is giving a new lease of life to Pakistani driver Mohamed Riaz after doctors used pioneering freezing surgery to repair a faulty valve.
Surgeons at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi used the latest cryo-technology to destroy faulty conductors in the heart of Mr Riaz that were causing his heart to beat irregularly, increasing the chances of a stroke or heart failure.
At just 34, Mr Riaz was regularly hospitalised because of his illness and he struggled to walk short distances without becoming out of breath.
His case is an example of young people with heart conditions who are more suitable than older patients for new restorative technologies used in open chest surgery.
“This is a relatively new technology to target arrhythmias in patients who develop a disturbance in their heartbeat,” said Dr Walid Shaker, a consultant and head of cardiac surgery at Burjeel Hospital.
“We can do this process by either using radiofrequencies, thermoregulation or freezing.
“It has been used in other specialties such as in aggressive renal tumours to freeze cancerous cells, and now, during cardiac surgery.”
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Mr Riaz had atrial fibrillation diagnosed. The heart condition is estimated to affect just 1 to 2 per cent of the population but is expected to double over the next 50 years as the population ages.
Cryo-ablation is one technique being used by the hospital to stabilise the condition, by freezing heart tissue to -100C.
The process is used by doctors when medication to treat a heart arrhythmia has failed, or if there has been an adverse reaction to drugs.
The freezing process destroys unnatural pathways that cause the heart to beat irregularly, as doctors repair a faulty valve.
“This patient came with severe heart irregularities in his left side, so he was short of breath during walking,” said Dr Shaker.
“He could not even walk 100 metres without being out of breath.
“His irregular heartbeat could also expose him to a stroke so it was a serious condition.
“We did an open heart surgery to repair the faulty valve and reconstruct the left atrial chamber of his heart.”
The cryo-ablation was used to freeze all the abnormal conduction tissue in his heart, to make his heartbeat in a regular fashion again.
It will also help prevent clots that could become very serious. Although a permanent remedy, Mr Riaz requires long-term medication.
Dr Shaker said patients who are younger will benefit more from the freezing process as their heart tissue is less resistant to treatment, and gives them more protection against cardiac stroke.
Two months after the surgery and Mr Riaz’s life has been transformed.
Before, he could not do any major activity and risked losing his heavy goods vehicle driving job due to ill health.
Since the surgery he is living a normal life and is much happier with his work and family life.
As it is a relatively new technology and the equipment used is not yet widely available, cryo-ablation remains an expensive process, although doctors said the costs could fall in the future.
“This process enabled us to target the damaged tissue without effecting the normal structure of the heart,” Dr Shaker said.
“It is expensive and not covered by health insurance but we are working hard in this as it makes such a big difference to the life of the patient.”
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
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Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) US$175,000 1,000m
7.05pm: Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions (Dirt) $100,000 1,900m
7.40pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (T) $250,000 1,800m
8.15pm: Handicap (D) $135,000 2,000m
8.50pm: Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (T) $250,000 1,400m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) $135,000 2,410m.
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Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
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Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
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Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
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Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
