Jayalalithaa, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and one of India’s most charismatic leaders passed away at 11:30 PM on Monday in Chennai. She was 68-year-old. Jayalalithaa had suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening and was rushed to the ICU. The 68-years-old politician who was under the watch of experts, including cardiologists, breathed her last at Apollo hospital in Chennai. Jayalalithaa was on Monday morning put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a heart assist device.
The ailing Chief Minister had shown signs of improvement during the last few days before the setback on Sunday. Scores of AIADMK workers have gathered at the Apollo Hospitals. Security has been beefed up across the state with the Tamil Nadu. Heavy deployment of police has been made at the hospital on Greams Road where thousands of supporters of ‘Amma’ (mother), as she is fondly called by her supporters, and AIADMK cadre have gathered on hearing the news.
An official statement issued by private-run Apollo Hospital confirmed that she passed away at 11.30 pm on Monday after having spent close to two and a half months of being hospitalized. She was admitted with complaints of fever and dehydration on September 22 to Apollo in Chennai. “She was responding well in the Critical Care Unit and had recovered substantially to be able to take food orally,” said a statement issued by the hospital. She was later shifted to the high dependency unit where she was being monitored by a panel of experts.
She suffered a massive cardiac arrest on December 4, while the hospital Intensivist who was monitoring her condition, was in the room. “She was immediately administered Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation and was put on Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support within an hour,” explained the statement.
The statement further said, “ECMO is the most advanced treatment available currently internationally. Every possible attempt was made to sustain her revival. However despite our best efforts her underlying conditions rendered her unable to recover and she passed away.”
