Former crown prince Paras Shah, who had at least two heart attacks in the past, had not taken any medicines for his heart problems in the past one year, Setopati has learned.
Shah was brought to Norvic International Hospital in Thapathali at 4:15 Monday afternoon after feeling difficulty while offering puja at Kopiteshwore Mahadev and Hiranyavarna Temple in Mangal Bazar Patan.
He has now been shifted to the Coronary Care unit after a team led by head of the cardiology department at the hospital Dr Yadav Bhatta opened the blockage through angioplasty and placed a stent there. The hospital issuing a press statement said that he is in a stable but critical condition.
"He had not taken any medicines for his heart problems in the past one year," a hospital source confided with Setopati.
Series of heart problems
An angioplasty was done and a stent placed when Shah had a blockage in his right coronary artery (RCA) in 2008. He then had a massive heart attack in February 2013 in Thailand.
The source does not know the details about that heart attack as he was treated in Thailand. The source says Shah had a blockage in his left anterior descending (LAD) artery in July 2015. RCA and LAD both contribute to the internal circulation system of the heart that provides oxygen supply for the hear muscles. But LAD is the most important artery among the arteries involved in internal circulation system of the heart.
An angioplasty was done and a stent placed at Norvic. An ICD (Implantable cardioverter defibrillator) was also placed in his chest then. ICD monitors heartbeats of the patient and sends electric pulses to regulate the heart rhythm whenever it becomes irregular.
Shah again had blockage in the LAD after not taking medicines for such a long time. His ejection fraction, the measurement of the proportion of the blood that the heart pumps out, was 15 percent when he was hospitalized. It is 60-70 percent for a healthy heart.
His ejection fraction recovered to around 25 percent after the blockage was removed.
Heart attacks can damage other organs including the brain but luckily Shah was conscious when brought at the hospital and remained conscious throughout the procedure.
His progress will depend on the recovery of the ejection rate. The source said that there are a few examples of people surviving even with an ejection rate of around 25 percent. "But the patient must lead a very disciplined life for that and Paras Shah has not showed that discipline until now."
