Narasimha Rao put on pacemaker after heart beat disturbance
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk

NEW DELHI (India): Former Prime Minister of India P V Narasimha Rao was put on a temporary pacemaker after he suffered "severe disturbances" in heart beat early Saturday, a day after cardiac arrest.

"He again experienced severe disturbances in heart beat which required resuscitation. The heart beat abnormalities were corrected with the insertion of a temporary pacemaker and circulatory assist device," an All India Institute of Medical Sciences spokesperson said.

Rao, 83, is at present "maintaining vital functions and is under intensive care with close monitoring by experts from several departments," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Recap

Rao was admitted to AIIMS yesterday after he complained of breathlessness and chest pain. He had later suffered a heart attack in sleep and was revived.

The Congress leader has been suffering from problems related to diabetes, coronary heart and vascular diseases, besides pulmonary fibriosis.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Congress President Sonia Gandhi among other senior politicians visited Narasimha Rao on Friday.

P V Narasimha Rao, who belongs to Andhra Pradesh, has been Prime Minister of India from 1991-96.

Philippine movie star, presidential candidate suffers stroke

Philippine movie star and former presidential candidate Fernando Poe was admitted to hospital Sunday after suffering a stroke, according to local news reports.

Radio reports said Poe, 64, was admitted to the intensive care unit of St Luke Medical Center in Quezon City suffering from chest pains early Sunday morning.

Former senator and close friend of Poe's Vicente Sotto told local media Poe suffered a stroke and was undergoing a CT scan.

Although billed as the country's biggest film star and hugely popular, Poe was defeated in this year's May 10 presidential election in the Philippines losing to Gloria Arroyo by over one million votes. Poe has maintained he was cheated out of victory.●