MUMBAI: Actor Saif Ali Khan, 36, was rushed to Lilavati Hospital on Sunday evening after suffering a mild heart attack. He is now said to be out of danger, but he will be kept under observation for the next two days.
Khan, who had just returned from a tour of South Africa, complained of chest pain at about 5pm, when he was heading for the evening's Stardust Awards at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.
He was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit and underwent an ECG, which showed that he had an irregular heart beat. The team led by cardiologist Vivek Mehan immediately performed an angiography.
Khan, who had rehearsed for a performance at the function earlier in the day, was to have received the award for best actor in a negative role for Omkara, which brought him much critical acclaim when it was released last year.
At the function, Omkara director Vishal Bharadwaj, who had no idea what had happened, went on stage to receive Khan's award and joked that stars are traditionally late.
But soon news of Khan's heart attack spread and several Bollywood biggies rushed to the hospital to see him. Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan, who were also at the awards function, were among the first to reach the hospital. Others like Fardeen Khan, Preity Zinta, Kunal Kohli and Jackie Shroff followed.
The actor is suffering from a myocardial infarction, a condition brought on by the lack of blood supply to the heart.
According to cardiologist Dr BC Kalmath, "Myocardial infarction is quite common among South Asians and Indians. A large study done by noted cardiologist BK Goyal recently revealed that it is increasingly common in people in the 30-40 age group, which wasn't the case till a few years ago.”
According to Kalmath, there are a number of factors like gene modification, abdominal obesity, smoking, lifestyle, lack of dietary control, and lack of exercise, which can contribute to this condition.
Then there is also the element of heredity. “Studies have revealed that if your parents have suffered a heart attack, you are four times more prone to it,” he said. Khan has a family history of heart trouble.
