For 18 lengthy years, life for a 41-year-old Bengaluru resident was a battle in opposition to a failing coronary heart. Recognized with a genetically inherited cardiomyopathy in his early twenties, his battle of practically twenty years ended with a life-saving coronary heart transplant at a non-public hospital within the metropolis.

A advertising and marketing supervisor by career, Mohammed Rafi — who hails from Kerala — was identified with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) on the age of 23, a illness that has been working in his household for ages. From then on, his life took an sudden flip from being unable to go to fitness center and or play in cricket tournaments to a every day battle for survival. 

Runs in household

His mom, sister, grandmother, uncle, cousin, and even his younger daughter had the identical situation. Nevertheless, it was not till his daughter handed away, on the age of 4, that they started to discover the genetic issue.

Medical doctors at Manipal Hospital Previous Airport Highway, the place the transplant was finished, stated the affected person, who in any other case led an lively life, skilled uncommon fatigue whereas enjoying cricket throughout an workplace tour. Nevertheless, he ignored it to be a standard consequence of skipping breakfast. Different signs of dizziness, breathlessness, and bloating continued for days.

Nervous about this sudden change in his well being, he visited a physician in Kerala, solely to find that he was within the early levels of HCM — a critical, typically hereditary situation the place the center muscle turns into abnormally thick.

Though he continued to steer a standard life, the bodily toll started to have an effect on his skilled and private life over time. “As a result of my job included enterprise journey to completely different locations, I needed to ask individuals to assist push my bike by means of site visitors. At one level, I realised I couldn’t even elevate my laptop computer,” he stated.

Initially handled by Sridhara G, Marketing consultant – Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Electrophysiology at Manipal Hospital Previous Airport Highway, for over a decade, he underwent the implantation of an AICD (Automated Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator). Whereas this intervention gave some aid for a few years, his well being step by step worsened with signs, similar to swelling within the physique, fixed fatigue, and lowered mobility. This was when he was identified with coronary heart failure, with a coronary heart transplantation being the final resort.

Watch for organ donors

The ready interval for a coronary heart transplant was prolonged, with a extreme scarcity of appropriate organ donors. Registered on the transplant listing since 2019, it was solely three months in the past that he lastly underwent the transplant, on March 21, 2025.

A crew of medical doctors led by Devananda N.S., HOD and Marketing consultant – Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgical procedure, and Coronary heart and Lung Transplant Surgical procedure, performed the surgical procedure. After two weeks of hospital keep, he was discharged on  April 5, 2025. His restoration course of remains to be ongoing, with medical doctors anticipating one other 3-4 months for full restoration.

“If households like Mr. Rafi’s are screened early, illness modification to some extent is feasible, and different asymptomatic family members will also be helped. That is excessive time we work on making a nationwide genetic database on such uncommon cardiac issues,” stated Dr. Devananda.