Jayalalithaa died of multiple organ failure, cardiac arrest was sudden: Doctors

Dr Richard Beale from the UK, who assisted the Apollo staff, explained that sepsis had spread through her body rapidly and diabetes made treatment difficult.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa died of multiple organ failure after the sepsis spread to her heart and other organs, said the doctors who treated her at Chennai’s Apollo Hospital. “Sepsis is when the body has an inflammatory reaction to illness. It can set in a matter of hours or days. The bacteria in her blood subsequently attached to her heart,” said Dr Richard Beale on Monday, adding that diabetes made Jayalalithaa’s treatment difficult. “There was no conspiracy.”

Dr Richard Beale, who was brought in to treat Jayalalithaa from the United Kingdom, addressed the media along with Dr Babu and Dr Balaji from Apollo Hospital. They said the press conference was meant to put to rest the speculation over what led to Jayalalithaa’s death. “It was a sudden cardiac arrest,” Dr Babu said. “CPR was started immediately. It went around for 20 minutes. But her heart did not respond.”

“When the sepsis progressed, Jayalalithaa was put on ventilator support. After the infection spread to her organs, it led to shortness of breath,” Dr Beale said. The former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader had been responding well to treatment initially, she would lip read and interact with people through gestures, he added.

The doctors dismissed reporters’ questions on why no photographs or other details were released by the hospital. “It is not normal practice to take photos and publish private details. It is an intrusion of privacy,” Dr Beale said. “I cannot understand why anybody here would think that is a reasonable thing to do.”

At the press meet, the doctors were repeatedly questioned about the timing of the conference, which was organised by the Tamil Nadu government. Dr Balaji said it was organised on Monday as Dr Beale was in Chennai for other work. Dr Beale clarified that he was not easily available to fly down to India as he was a highly sought-after sepsis specialist.