Shawdesh Desk:

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia will undergo medical tests today (Monday), a day after a permanent pacemaker was implanted in her chest at the Coronary Care Unit of Evercare Hospital in the capital, said her personal physician AZM Zahid Hossain.

‘She has been kept under close observation in isolation since the pacemaker was installed in her heart on Sunday evening. She’ll undergo some tests there,’ he said.

A member of the BNP chief’s medical board, wishing anonymity, said Khaleda Zia’s condition is stable as her physical condition has not deteriorated since the pacemaker was placed.

He said that they would review the reports of her new health tests on Monday to assess her condition and determine the next course of her treatment.

Earlier on Sunday, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had a pacemaker implanted to address her heart issues.

A group of specialist doctors at Evercare Hospital successfully installed the pacemaker in Khaleda Zia’s chest.

Zahid, also a BNP vice-chairman, said Khaleda had previous heart issues involving three blockages.

‘After a thorough assessment, the medical board decided to implant the pacemaker in her heart,’ the physician said.

On June 11, 2022, Khaleda Zia was diagnosed with multiple blockages in her heart at Evercare Hospital. One of her arteries was 95 per cent blocked and was treated with stent placement at that time.

A pacemaker is a small electronic device implanted in the chest to help control one’s heartbeat. It is used when the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or irregularly due to a heart attack, heart failure, or another problem that damages the heart’s natural electrical system.

Khaleda Zia was rushed to Evercare Hospital in an ambulance at about 3:30am on Saturday as she suddenly fell ill at her residence, ‘Firoza’ in Gulshan. She was quickly admitted to the CCU, where her medical treatment began under the supervision of a medical board.

The former prime minister, aged 79, has long been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart, and eyes.