Sourav Ganguly suffered a “minor heart attack” on Saturday and had a stent implanted in his right coronary artery, doctors and officials said at Woodlands Hospital where the former Indian cricket captain is being treated.
Sourav, 48, who sources said had got off his car and walked into the hospital at 1pm after the 11am cardiac event, is stable, the doctors said in the evening.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India president had suffered chest discomfort and dizziness while working the treadmill in the gym at his home in Behala, a close associate said.
Dr Saroj Mandal, interventional cardiologist, who is treating Sourav, said: “Ganguly suffered a minor heart attack and came to the hospital.”
“We conducted electrocardiography and echocardiography, which showed dysfunction of the cardiac system, suggesting a heart attack.”
Investigations revealed three blockages in Sourav’s arteries, one of which needed a stent implantation, Dr Mandal said.
Sourav was wheeled into the cath lab at 3pm and the stent was implanted following angioplasty. Doctors said he received treatment within the “golden hour”, the six-hour period from the onset of the heart attack.
“The blockage had caused a blood clot that was hindering blood flow into the heart muscle, resulting in the heart attack. He had no symptoms earlier,” Dr Mandal said.
Hospital sources said Sourav was in the ICU but was conscious and talking, and had semi-solid food at night.
Cricket Association of Bengal president Avishek Dalmiya said he had met Sourav at the hospital in the evening.
“He’s doing fine. He was having food and watching TV when I was there,” Dalmiya said.
A medical team at Woodlands will decide on Monday what to do with the two other blockages they have detected in Sourav’s arteries.
As soon as Sourav had felt uncomfortable in the morning, he had stopped his workout and walked back to his living room, a close associate said.
“He was complaining of pain and discomfort in the chest. This was accompanied by nausea,” the associate said.
Dr Saptarshi Basu, a doctor associated with the Cricket Association of Bengal, was contacted. It was decided that Sourav would be taken to Woodlands.
“Sourav didn’t show much discomfort when he walked up to the car and sat in his favourite front seat. On arrival at Woodlands he got off the car and walked into the investigation room,” the associate said.
Woodlands CEO Rupali Basu said: “He (Sourav) has a family history of ischaemic heart disease. When he came to the hospital at 1pm, his pulse was 70 per minute, and his BP was 130 by 80. His other clinical parameters too were within normal limits.”
Speculation relating to Sourav and the upcoming Assembly elections has been rife since his December 27 meeting with Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The following day, Sourav attended an event at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi where Union home minister Amit Shah was present.
Dhankhar visited Sourav at Woodlands on Saturday. “Called on @SGanguly99 at Woodlands Hospital and saw the usual captivating cheerful smile on his face. Interacted with his wife, daughter and brothers,” the governor tweeted at 6.02pm.
Sourav had been closely associated with the hosting of the Indian Premier League in the UAE in September-November. He made three visits to the Gulf country and said he had undergone 22 Covid-19 tests during that period so he could carry out his professional duties.