CM Siddaramaiah, seer visit H D Kumaraswamy, JDS leaders throng hospital
BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ministers N Chaluvarayaswamy and Shivaraj Tangadagi on Thursday visited former CM H D Kumaraswamy, who was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Jayanagar, Bengaluru, following a 'mild stroke' on Wednesday morning.
They enquired about his health and wished him well. Siddaramaiah, who was in Mysuru when Kumaraswamy took ill, had been closely monitoring the JDS leader’s health condition. He returned from Mysuru late Wednesday night and visited the hospital after Kumaraswamy was shifted from the ICU to the ward.
Thursday saw a non-stop flow of visitors, and many JDS MLAs, MLCs and others were told not to disturb him. Kumaraswamy’s mother Chennamma visited him, while his father H D Deve Gowda spoke to him on the phone. Their wife Anita, son and actor Nikhil Kumar, daughter-in-law Revati and two-year-old grandson Aviyandev were at the hospital throughout the day.
Nikhil, who was visiting Dubai in connection with a film location, returned to Bengaluru in the early hours of Thursday. It was little Aviyandev’s presence that seemed to improve the health condition of Kumaraswamy, who enjoyed the toddler’s antics.
Adichunchanagiri pontiff Nirmalananda Swamy also visited Kumaraswamy. JDS leaders and close aides Bandeppa Kashempur and Sa Ra Mahesh, besides MLAs Sharangouda Kandakur and Ravindra Srikantaiah, were seen at the hospital.
Sources said Kumaraswamy had told visitors his speech became slurred and his limbs heavy, and it was the decision to seek medical help and timely intervention that helped. They said his speech was no longer slurred.
Kumaraswamy’s close associates said the family wished that he should rest in hospital for a few days and not be discharged in a hurry. Nikhil on Thursday posted, “Father who was hospitalised due to illness, is recovering well. He has been shifted to the ward and will return home soon.”
Doctors studying risk factors
Though Kumaraswamy can return to routine activities in 2-3 days, doctors are studying the risk factors which caused the stroke, and accordingly take preventive measures. Dr Govindaiah Yatheesh, vice-president and unit head, of Apollo Speciality Hospital, Jayanagar, said there is a high chance of recurrence in 33% of all stroke cases, and suggested modification in lifestyle by controlling high blood pressure and diabetes. Since Kumaraswamy had a valve replacement previously, he is more susceptible to stroke, and has been given blood thinners to prevent the formation of blood clots, Dr Yatheesh explained.