According to reports, cricket legend Kapil Dev has suffered a heart attack and has undergone angioplasty at Delhi's Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.
In a statement, the hospital said,
Former Indian Cricket captain Mr Kapil Dev , Age 62 years, came to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (Okhla Road) emergency department at 1:00 am on 23rd October with a complaint of chest pain. He was evaluated and an emergency coronary Angioplasty was performed by Dr Atul Mathur, Director of Cardiology Department, in the middle of night.
The statement adds, "Currently, he is admitted in ICU and under close supervision of Dr Atul Mathur and his team. Mr Kapil Dev is stable now and he is expected to get discharged in couple of days."
What is an Angioplasty?
Often what leads to a heart attack is a coronary artery disease where the arteries in your heart become narrowed or blocked due to a build up of cholesterol or plaque, according to Medline Plus. This means less blood can flow through them and therefore the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen. Often this leads to chest pain (angina) or a heart attack.
Angioplasty is a medical procedure to restore the blood flow in your coronary arteries. MayoClinic has a video of the procedure here.
Indians are predisposed to coronary artery disease. Even when we are very particular about our exercise and well-being, we don’t know what is happening in the heart.
Symptoms of Heart Attack You Should Look Out For
In case of a heart attack, it has been seen that the lack of knowledge often causes a delay in handling the situation, which could aggravate the damage and in some cases prove to be fatal.
So identifying the early symptoms of heart attack is very essential.
Pay attention to your body — and call for help if you feel:
- Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
- Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
- Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
- Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, lightheadedness, back or jaw pain.
Remember the signs, but even if you're not sure it's a heart attack, act fast and have it checked out.
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