Nepal crown prince survives major heart attack

KATHMANDU: The heir to Nepal's throne, Crown Prince Paras, who faces the abolition of his inheritance at an election in November, survived a major heart attack on Thursday and was put in the intensive care unit for the next 48 hours, doctors said.

The 36-year-old, who has been variously described as the hero and villain of the terrible massacre in the royal palace six years ago that killed his uncle, then king Birendra, and his entire family, had the attack at his official residence Nirmal Niwas in the capital around 10 am, the doctors at the Norvic-Escorts International Hospital said.

The hospital, Nepal's prime heart care centre run with Indian collaboration, received a call in the morning from the crown prince's residence and rushed two doctors there.

Senior cardiologist Shyam Bahadur Pande did an immediate ECG on the patient and found it abnormal.

A Nepal Army ambulance then rushed the prince to Norvic where a team of five doctors, headed by eminent Indian cardiologist Bharat Rawat, did a quick angiography to diagnose the problem.

"Almost 95 percent of the right artery was blocked," Rawat said. "It was not pumping blood to the heart."

"Within 55 minutes, we had done an angioplasty and stenting, putting a stent, a metallic coil, in the artery to stop it from collapsing," Rawat said.

While the prince is out of danger, he has to be kept under observation since one to two percent patients develop blood clots in the aftermath of angioplasty and have a second attack, the cardiologist said.

After 48 hours in the ICU, the prince, known for his fondness for fast cars, football and late night parties in discotheques, would have to remain in the hospital for three more days, followed by three weeks of rest.

Though the test results were not out immediately, Rawat said the crown prince had a family history of heart attacks and high cholesterol.   

Almost immediately after the prince was taken to the hospital, his parents King Gyanendra and Queen Komal and other members of the royal family including his wife Crown Princess Himani and sister Princess Prerana reached the hospital amidst tight security.

But doctors ruled out any visitors immediately, even his royal parents.

"They can just have a peek," a doctor said.

The heart attack triggered by high blood pressure came a day after the royal family lost its last support in the kingdom.

The Nepali Congress, the country's biggest political party that had so far been supporting monarchy, said it would contest the November 22 elections with a manifesto of federal democratic republic.

The fresh blow came after the new multi-party government took away the king's power and privileges and this year and began nationalising the properties the monarch had inherited from his slain elder brother Birendra.

After the fall of the royal regime last year, the crown prince was said to have become a vegetarian, refused drinks at his own birthday party, and attending Art of Living meditation courses.

With just 76 days left for an election that would for the first time ask people to vote between the king and a republic, the royal family has been passing through a gloomy period.

Even if the king manages to survive the constituent assembly election, there have been calls for axing Paras' inheritance and giving the crown to his son Prince Hridayendra instead.  

In the past, when he had not been made crown prince, Paras was reported to have been involved in a car accident that killed a popular singer. However, he escaped legal action after someone else claimed he was driving the car and the royal family enjoyed legal immunity.

However, several political leaders began a campaign and collected 10,000 signatures from people who urged then king Birendra to strip Paras of his royal title.

The crown prince is said to have vehemently opposed his father's decision last year to hand over power to the opposition parties after an uprising that paralysed the kingdom for 19 days.

This week, after three bombs went off in Kathmandu killing three women and injuring 26 people, the Maoists alleged in their mouthpiece publication that the crown prince had engineered the blasts.