Former Finance head Arun Jaitley remains critical on extracorporeal life support; Several Ministers enquire about his health at AIIMS

New Delhi, August 19: Giving a full stop to the death rumours of the former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the AIIMS team on Sunday said that he was on Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support, but unfortunately in critical stage.

 

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as extracorporeal life support, is an extracorporeal technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion to sustain life.

 

 

Jaitley was admitted to the hospital on August 9 after he complained of breathlessness and restlessness. Although the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has not issued any bulletin on his health condition since August 10, several prominent leaders have been visiting the hospital since to know about his wellbeing.

 

While a multidisciplinary team of doctors is monitoring him, the leaders who visited the hospital enquiring for the veteran’s health were, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and his deputy Ashwini Kumar Choubey, BJP MPs Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Gautam Gambhir and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat.

 

"Doctors at AIIMS are doing the best they can”, Dr Harsh Vardhan had said after seeing Jaitley. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Himachal Pradesh Governor Kalraj Mishra, RSS Joint General Secretary Dr Krishna Gopal and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh also visited the facility.

 

Arun Jaitley, 66, 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 troubleshooter of the government.