Actor Vivek critical after cardiac arrest, hospitalised in Chennai

Vivek has been admitted at SIMS Hospital in Vadapalani, Chennai.
Actor Vivek
Actor Vivek
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UPDATE: The actor passed away in the early hours of Saturday.

Actor Vivek was admitted to a private hospital on April 16, Friday, with complaints of chest pain. A source in SIMS Hospital at Vadapalani confirmed that the actor is in a critical condition after suffering from a cardiac arrest. Vivek is currently being monitored by a team of doctors at the private hospital and has been placed on the ECMO machine, which pumps and oxygenates blood outside the body. An angiogram and angioplasty were performed on him before he was placed on ECMO.

According to sources, he had fainted at his residence in Chennai and his wife and daughter rushed him to the hospital. Sources said that at the time of hospital admission, Vivek had a weak pulse but it picked up after initial treatment. "He has heart blocks. Doctors will decide further course of treatment. Although his condition is better than at the time of admission, Vivek remains critical," said a source. 

Incidentally, the 59-year-old actor had received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday. However, the hospital told TNM that no links between the cardiac arrest and the vaccine have been established. Soon after the vaccination, the actor spoke to the media, urging all those who are eligible to take the dose. “The public safety measures to keep ourselves safe (from coronavirus) is wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining adequate physical distancing. The medical way to protect ourselves is this vaccine. You might be taking Siddha medicines, Ayurvedic medicines, Vitamin-C, Zinc tablets etc. This is all fine. But these are added measures. The vaccine is the only thing that can save your life. If you ask me if people who are vaccinated don’t get COVID-19, it is not like that. Even if COVID-19 hits you, there won’t be death,” the actor had said.

Vivek, who maintains an active Twitter profile also thanked doctors and staff at Omandurar Hospital in Chennai, where he received his vaccine dose.

The actor was last seen playing a role in Dharala Prabhu, the Tamil remake of the 2012 Hindi film Vicky Donor. Vivek is also part of Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2. Dharala Prabhu starring Harish Kalyan released the same week India went into nation-wide lockdown last March, and therefore did not have a good run at theatres.

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