CHENNAI: Actor Vivekh, who suffered a heart attack on Friday, had a 100% block in his left artery and it may not be related to Covid vaccination, said Dr Raju Sivasamy, vice-president of SIMS hospitals.
Addressing reporters here, Dr Sivasamy said what the 59-year-old actor suffered was a separate cardiac event called “ventricular fibrillation”, resulting in decreased supply of blood to the brain.
“This is actor Vivekh’s first attack. It is a severe one. We have done an angiogram, followed by angioplasty, and have placed a stent. He is presently critical, in the ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and it may take at least 24 hours for him to improve,” said Dr Sivasamy.
He said that Vivekh’s family members brought him to the hospital on Friday morning in an unconscious state at 11 am. “He was immediately attended to by the emergency and cardiology doctors. This is a pure cardiac issue, and we have done gene-testing and CT scan, which showed no involvement of Covid,” added Sivasamy.
The hospital bulletin, signed by its Medical Services Director Dr Vijaykumar, said that Vivekh suffered an acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock, terming it a separate event that may not be due to Covid vaccination.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan, after discussing with the doctors part of treatment, said that the doctors have done multiple tests and no link to Covid was established.
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“On Thursday, 830 people got Covaxin in Omandurar Government Hospital, including Vivekh. Today also many have taken and totally 5.6 lakh people have taken Covaxin. We have not observed such adverse effects and it is not related to the vaccine,” reiterated Radhakrishnan.
He said that a hundred percent block does not form one day after vaccination. “On behalf of the health department, we want him to recover first. He himself came forward to take up the vaccine with a good intuition to spread awareness, and for his safety. We want him to get well soon,” Radhakrishnan said.
Actor Vivekh, after taking his vaccine on Thursday, had said that both Covaxin and Covishield were safe and people must come forward to take them.
Radhakrishnan too urged people to cast away their fears and come forward to take the vaccine.