Ex-ISRO chief Kasturirangan undergoes angioplasty in private hospital in Bengaluru, recovering

Former ISRO chairperson and head of New Education Policy’s drafting committee K Kasturirangan underwent angioplasty and is currently recovering, doctors treating him said on Tuesday.

The 82-year-old had suffered a heart attack in Sri Lanka and was airlifted to Bengaluru for treatment on Monday.

”A preliminary assessment was conducted, leading to the decision to proceed with a cardiac MRI to assess heart function, determine the presence of myocardial ischemia, and evaluate myocardial viability. Following the cardiac MRI, an angioplasty (PTCA) with stent placement was performed on the left anterior descending (LAD) artery,” said Dr Bagirath R, Senior Consultant Cardiology Adult; and Dr Uday Khanolkar, Senior Consultant Cardiology Adult from Narayana Health City.

The angioplasty was a complex procedure that involved using Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) to soften the dense calcium deposits within the artery followed by stent placement using a medicated stent, the doctors were quoted as saying by Narayana Health in a medical bulletin.

”Dr Kasturirangan demonstrated good tolerance to the procedure and is currently recovering in the coronary care unit (CCU),” they further added.

Kasturirangan has previously been chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and chairman of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission. He has been a former member of the Rajya Sabha (2003–09) and a former member of the now-defunct Planning Commission.

He was also the Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, from April 2004 to 2009.