Tamil Nadu on edge as Jayalalithaa suffers heart attack, taken to ICU

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, 68, who has been undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Chennai for the past two-and-a-half months, suffered a cardiac arrest late on Sunday evening.

“She is being treated and monitored by a team of experts, including pulmonologists, cardiologists and critical care specialists,” the release issued by hospital’s chief operating officer Subbiah Viswanathan said.

Apollo and government officials refused to give any further information, but sources in the hospital said Jayalalithaa was moved back to the intensive care unit from her room, where she has been since November 19. Governor Vidyasagar Rao left a Navy event in Mumbai.

Several senior AIADMK officials visited temples to offer prayers. Jayalalithaa was hospitalized on September 22 with fever and dehydration.

She was later moved in to the ICU and put on ventilator for lung congestion and treated with antibiotics for infection.

Doctors subsequently performed a tracheostomy – made a hole in the wind pipe near the neck – so that they didn’t have to put the tube through her mouth.

UK-based Dr

Richard Beale

, as also a team of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, comprising pulmonologist Dr G Khilnani, anaesthesiologist Dr Anjan Trikha and cardiologist Dr Nitish Nayak joined the Apollo medicos to treat her.

She was on a regular, but high protein diet and given passive and active physiotherapy.

On November 19, doctors moved her to a personalized room with facilities of an ICU, including respiratory support. “Besides ventilation, it’s equipped with medicines and equipment for emergency care,” a doctor said. She would continue to be on tracheostomy and visitors would be restricted. The hospital has personalized a suite for Jayalalithaa.

Doctors and paramedics will continue to monitor her, the doctor added.

Last week,

Apollo Hospitals

chairman, Dr Prathap C Reddy, said it was difficult for her to speak with the tracheostomy, and she was using a speaking aid.

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