Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Virendra Kataria was admitted in a hospital in Chennai, after he experienced severe chest pain early on Thursday. Raj Nivas sources said Kataria had complained of chest pain around 6.30 am and a team of doctors from the Government General Hospital examined him immediately.
Dr J Balachander, a specialist in Cardiology from the Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), also joined them. Sources said the doctors found two blocks in his heart and advised him to get it checked at a cardiac specialty centre. The sources added that he has had heart trouble for 10 years and had stents inserted into his heart three years ago, at a Delhi Hospital. Kataria (80) was taken to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai.
“There was the option of surgery or we could have tried advanced medication. But due to his age, the doctors were inclined to go in for an angioplasty,” said a source. By 5.30 pm, Kataria underwent an angioplasty and the blocks were cleared.