HDK may undergo heart surgery again

Bengaluru, Sept 19: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has said that he will be out of action for the next fortnight owing to health complications.

Kumaraswamy, who said that he will be undergoing a valve replacement surgery on September 23, appealed to his supporters and party workers not to get anxious, as it was a routine procedure.

The JD(S) leader who had undergone heart surgery in December 2007, was scheduled for a valve replacement in the next two years.

‘Toll on health’

“However, for the last seven to eight months, I have been coughing incessantly, and this has taken a toll on my heart. The problem aggravated when I was travelling to Israel recently. I couldn’t walk steadily in the Mumbai airport, nor could I climb the stairs in Israel. I consulted some doctors there and they said I needed to undergo surgery immediately, but I put it off,” Kumaraswamy said.

Once in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy underwent a series of tests and investigations. He is scheduled to be admitted to Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research hospital in the next couple of days.

When contacted, noted cardiologist and director of Jayadeva, Dr C N Manjunath, said that a team of four to five experts including pulmonologists and cardiologists will first screen Kumaraswamy to determine whether the problem is respiratory or cardiac or interconnected.

“If the degree of the valve problem is significant, then we will go for a replacement surgery,” he added.