Doctors at the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) performed an angioplasty on Justice For All party leader CN Sharma yesterday after he complained of feeling unwell. He remains a patient at the institute and his condition is being monitored.

CN Sharma

Resident interventional cardiologist at CHI, Dr Pratik Soni performed the operation and according to reports, Sharma had a drug-eluting stent inserted into his arteries. The non-surgical procedure lasted just over ten minutes and Sharma was said to be doing well.

Officials at CHI were tight-lipped on the procedure and would only say that a prominent individual was treated at the institute and remained a patient. However, sources close to the broadcaster confirmed that he went into the hospital yesterday after feeling unwell and a decision was subsequently taken to have the procedure done.

Stabroek News was reliably informed that Sharma’s relatives had weighed the decision to fly him out of the country for the operation, but later settled on the services offered by the local institute which is located in the compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Sharma’s family when contacted said they would speak publicly today. His procedure yesterday was reportedly the first ever done in the country because he had a second stent inserted.

This newspaper was told that the drug-eluting stent was fitted next to another stent which was previously inserted.

Coronary angioplasty is a procedure to widen and clean out blood vessels using balloon dilation or laser treatment, improving blood flow to the heart muscle. Patients are usually discharged from hospital within a day and recovery would take a few days.

However, patients are expected to stay on the medication for the period prescribed.

CHI introduced stenting in Guyana back in 2007 when three angioplasties were performed. The cost of the procedure varies depending on the number of stents a patient requires.

The stenting being done here is referred to as bare metal stenting and involves the insertion of a wire mesh tube during angioplasty to prop open an artery.

Last year CHI announced the inclusion of the resident interventional cardiologist on his team saying that Dr Soni would be available for emergency cardiac problems. With Dr Soni on board the institute said stenting if required would be possible within hours. Dr Soni has been practicing cardiology for the past 13 years and is currently a Senior Consultant of interventional cardiology.