Arun Jaitley's health condition 'critical', say sources; shifted to ECMO from ventilator

Former Finance Minister and veteran BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi following complaints of breathlessness and restlessness on August 9, is stated to be "critical", according to sources. However, the BJP stalwart, who has been on ventilator from the last few days, is shifted to ECMO following a surgical procedure named tracheostomy on Saturday morning. A multidisciplinary team of doctors is currently supervising his treatment at the cardio-neuro centre.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a treatment where a pump is used to circulate blood through an artificial lung back into the bloodstream of a ailing body. It also removes the carbon dioxide and oxygenates red blood cells throughout the body. It is performed either post-cardiopulmonary bypass or in late stage treatment of a person with profound heart or lung failure.

With reports of his condition further deteriorated, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati paid a visit to Jaitley on Saturday morning. President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also rushed to AIIMS on Friday to enquire about the well-being of the ailing BJP leader.

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While the President visited the hospital around noon, Shah and Adityanath visited AIIMS around 11.15 pm yesterday. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey were present during their visits. However, the hospital is yet to issue a health bulletin on Jaitley's health condition. It has not issued any medical bulletin on his health update since August 10.

In May this year, Jaitley was admitted to AIIMS for treatment. Jaitley, a lawyer by profession, had been an important part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet in the BJP government's first term. He held the finance and defence portfolios, and often acted as the chief trouble shooter of the government.

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Jaitley did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election because of his ill-health. He had undergone a renal transplant on May 14 last year at AIIMS with Railways Minister Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.

Jaitley, who had stopped attending office since early April last year, was back in the finance ministry on August 23, 2018. In September 2014, he underwent bariatric surgery to correct the weight he had gained because of a long-standing diabetic condition.