BENGALURU: Noted city-based physician and cardiologist Dr B Ramana Rao had tended to Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar from the age of eight till his last day on Friday. Puneeth, along with his wife Ashwini, had met Dr Rao at his clinic in Sadashivanagar on October 29 before he was rushed to Vikram Hospital.
Dr Rao has been their family physician for over three decades and had personally attended to the late Kannada matinee icon Dr Rajkumar all through until his death in April, 2006. “Appu (Puneeth) came to my clinic with Ashwini around 11.20 am on Friday. He complained of weakness after having exercised for two hours, which was his normal everyday routine. In addition, he had done some boxing followed by steaming after his workout. When I checked him, I found his blood pressure and heart normal and the lungs, clear,” Dr Rao told TNSE.
Narrating the sequence of events that led to the untimely demise of the 46-year-old superstar, Dr Rao said he found that Puneeth was sweating and advised him to get an ECG done. “He told me that he maybe sweating because of the additional workout. We did an ECG in the clinic and found some strain patterns. There was however, no infarction. He had not suffered a heart attack. I advised him to get admitted to Vikram Hospital. I called up doctors at the hospital and informed them. We followed the couple to the hospital,” said Dr Rao.
“Appu died of cardiac arrest. It was a sudden death. He had no previous medical history of any type, like hypertension or diabetes. He was the fittest among all his family members. He was a role model of fitness. I used to quote his example to people and my patients,” he added. Dr Rao said that 10 days ago, Puneeth had visited him for a mild sinus issue. “He was fine the next day,” he said.
Dr Rao is also a Padma Shree awardee and has been conducting free clinics every Sunday at his village T Begur, 45 km from Bengaluru, for 48 years. “Appu and Ashwini had visited the clinic once. We offered them lunch separately, but both refused and instead, sat down with the patients for a sambar-rice meal. Humility was ingrained in Appu. I still can’t come to terms that he is gone. It is like losing a son,” mourned the physician.
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