India's shooting icon Jaspal Rana passed away on Friday after suffering a sudden cardiac rupture while asleep. As a legendary Asian Games gold medalist and the master mentor who guided Manu Bhaker to her historic double-bronze feat at the Paris Olympics, Rana was pivotal in putting Indian shooting on the global map and inspiring generations of athletes.
According to the doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, Rana had suffered an acute heart attack while attending the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany. However, he mistook the severe chest discomfort for acidity/gastritis and proceeded with his travel plans back to India.
He was rushed to the hospital after landing in Delhi.
Due to the delay in seeking treatment, the primary artery responsible for the attack was completely blocked, his heart's pumping function was severely weakened, and he had entered a state of heart failure.
Doctors successfully performed an emergency stent procedure to clear the cardiac blockage.
Though Rana showed significant initial signs of recovery and was actually deemed fit for hospital discharge, his heart wall had been critically weakened by the days-old untreated blockages. He suffered a sudden cardiac rupture (a tear in the heart muscle) during sleep, which led to his sudden demise.
"He presented with an acute heart attack that was already three days old. He had been travelling and continued to experience chest pain before arriving at the hospital in a very critical condition. The artery responsible for the heart attack was completely blocked. It was found that his heart's pumping function was severely weakened, and he was in heart failure,” Dr Balbir Singh, Group Chairman – Cardiac Sciences, Pan Max and Chief of Interventional Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, told ANI.
Experts emphasise never to ignore chest pressure, heaviness, or burning - especially when accompanied by unexpected fatigue, cold sweats, or dizziness.
What is a heart rupture?
A heart or myocardial rupture is a severe and often fatal complication where the walls, muscles or valves of the heart tear or rupture.
Who are at the risk of getting a heart rupture?
*Those with high blood pressure
*Recurring chest pain
*Those who had a stroke
*Chronic kidney disease patients
*Wait a long time after chest pain starts before going to the hospital
What are the symptoms?
*Chest pain
*Cardiogenic shock (a life-threatening condition that happens suddenly when your heart can’t pump enough blood to keep up with your body’s demand for it)
*Cardiac arrest
*Heart failure
*Respiratory failure
