Woman's rare heart defect repaired without surgery in 24-hour miracle

A 40-year-old woman has made a rapid recovery after doctors at City International Hospital (CIH) treated a rare heart condition. The patient arrived with severe chest pain and breathlessness, symptoms that had persisted for three days even with little movement. Her diagnosis—a ruptured sinus of Valsalva—was confirmed and repaired using a minimally invasive approach.

The woman was rushed to CIH after experiencing sudden chest pain and difficulty breathing. An emergency transthoracic echocardiogram revealed the rupture, where blood was leaking from the aorta into the right atrium. To plan the treatment, doctors used transoesophageal echocardiography to map the exact size and position of the defect.

Instead of traditional open-heart surgery, the medical team opted for a percutaneous intervention. They inserted an occluder device to close the abnormal connection between the aorta and the right atrium. The procedure was completed without complications, and the patient's symptoms disappeared almost immediately.

Dr Lê Văn Tuyến, the cardiologist overseeing the case, explained that this type of rupture creates a high-pressure shunt. This forces extra blood into the right side of the heart, often leading to rapid heart failure if untreated. The woman, however, was walking and back to normal activities the same day. After just 24 hours of observation, she was discharged from the hospital.

Ruptured sinus of Valsalva is uncommon, affecting roughly 0.09% of people worldwide. While no central database tracks all cases, several hundred patients have undergone similar percutaneous repairs in recent years. Leading centres like the Cleveland Clinic (USA), Deutsches Herzzentrum Berlin (Germany), and National Heart Centre Singapore frequently perform these procedures using devices such as Amplatzer occluders.

The patient left the hospital within a day of the procedure, fully recovered and free of symptoms. Her case highlights how minimally invasive techniques can effectively treat rare cardiac conditions without major surgery. CIH's approach aligns with methods used in specialised centres globally, where such interventions have become a standard alternative to open-heart operations.