Susan Wakaruigi (L), Chief of Nursing, led the celebration of the cardiology team’s achievement at The Nairobi West Hospital./HANDOUT
When 40-year-old Jackline Mudeizi walked into a Nairobi cardiac unit earlier this month, she carried with her a story familiar to many Kenyans living with undiagnosed or unresolved heart conditions—years of unexplained fatigue, breathlessness, and a lingering fear that something inside her chest was not quite right.
For years, Ms. Mudeizi had been living with a large atrial septal defect (ASD), a congenital “hole in the heart” measuring about 25 millimetres. The condition allows oxygen-rich blood to flow in the wrong direction, forcing the heart and lungs to work harder.
In her case, the defect was unusually complex: it lacked the normal rim of surrounding heart tissue needed to anchor closure devices safely. A previous attempt at closing it had already failed.
A Delicate Procedure
At The Nairobi West Hospital, a team led by Dr. Vijaysinh Patil, Interventional Cardiologist and Director of the Cath Lab, took on the case after detailed imaging confirmed the defect’s size and structural challenges.
“This was one of the most technically demanding ASDs we have handled,” Dr. Patil said.
“The absence of supportive rim tissue meant the device had very little to hold onto. We had to map the defect carefully, choose the right size, and deploy it with absolute precision.”
Using a minimally invasive catheter procedure—rather than open-heart surgery—the team inserted a 30-mm closure device through a vein in the leg and guided it into the heart. With controlled manoeuvres and real-time imaging, the specialists positioned the device and sealed the defect successfully.
Ms. Mudeizi is now recovering steadily.
“I feel lighter, like there is finally peace in my chest,” she said.
“For years, I worried that something was wrong, but I didn’t know what it was. Now I can breathe better and think about living normally again.”
A Growing Burden
Kenya is witnessing a steady rise in cardiovascular diseases, with national data showing heart-related conditions account for a significant proportion of hospital admissions.
Despite this, congenital heart diseases such as ASD remain poorly documented, often going undiagnosed well into adulthood.
A study at a local tertiary hospital found that only 6.7 percent of adult cardiac surgery patients had ASD, highlighting how rare—and often delayed—adult ASD interventions are within the country.
Older surveys placed congenital heart disease prevalence at 1.8 per 1,000 children, though many cases may be missed due to limited screening.
Why These Skills Matter
Experts say more cases like Ms. Mudeizi’s underscore the need for highly trained interventional cardiologists capable of handling complex congenital defects.
Kenya still has a limited number of centres equipped to perform advanced catheter-based heart interventions.
“Having local capacity to manage complicated structural heart disease reduces the need for patients to seek help outside the country,” Dr. Patil noted. “It also means intervention can happen earlier, before long-term damage develops.”
For Ms. Mudeizi, the procedure represents more than a clinical milestone. It is, in her words, “a second chance—one I didn’t think I would get.”