Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleElliot Atkins became the first child in the UK to undergo an angioplasty for heart failure, a procedure typically reserved for adults. Diagnosed at 11 months old with heart failure and the rare middle aortic syndrome, his condition was initially deemed too risky for major surgery. Medics at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) performed a series of angioplasties to widen his blood vessels, which reversed his heart failure and strengthened him for further treatment. These interventions enabled Elliot to receive a complex aortic bypass graft and a kidney transplant last July, which he would not have survived without the angioplasties. Now aged seven, Elliot is thriving, running around with friends, and preparing for school sports day, with Gosh having since applied this pioneering treatment to other children. In fullBoy with ‘one in a million’ condition sees heart failure reversed after life-saving UK first procedureThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in