KATHMANDU, Nov 21: Amit Yadav of Begnahashivapur-3 of Dhanusa died some 25 days because the strikes in Tarai prevented him from going to Bardibas to examine his blood condition.
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Yadav, a cardiac patient, died of blockage caused by blood clots in his replaced heart valve, said doctors at Kathmandu-based Sahid Gangalal National Heart Center (SGNHC), where Yadav breathed his last.
Thirteen-year-old Yadav underwent heart-valve replacement surgery at the SGNHC some four months ago. Doctors at the SGNHC had successfully replaced his heart valve and had discharged him prescribing some medicines and regular blood tests."Due to the fuel crisis caused by the economic blockade and the prolonged Tarai protests, Yadav could not conduct regular tests of his blood and died of blockage due to blood clots in his replaced heart valve," Dr Ramesh Koirala of the SGNHC said.
According to Dr Koirala, cardiac patients who undergo valve-replacement surgery need regular blood tests to monitor whether anticoagulant drug is working correctly or not. Anticoagulants are blood thinners, which interfere with the clotting sequence and increase the amount of time to form a clot. That gives time for any damaged blood cells to be washed away from implanted valve and reduces chances of formation of blood clots.
"Due to the prolonged protests in the Tarai region, Yadav's family could not take him to Bardibas for months, so the blood clot blocked his valve," informed Dr Koirala. There is a blood-testing facility at Bardibas, which is the nearest one from Begnahashivapur.
Dr Koirala said that Yadav was brought to the SGNHC in critical stage. He claimed that dozens of people have died due to the ongoing protests and economic blockade imposed by India, which has exceeded over two months.
"Dozens of people have died of the ongoing protest and the economic blockade. I have come to know more than four cases where people died due to inability to come to hospital," he claimed.
Thousands of ailing people across the country have been deprived of essential medicines and health-care services due to the prolonged economic blockade imposed by India on Nepal. Health facilities across the country have been reeling under acute scarcity of essential medicines and surgical equipment, due to which several hospitals, including the SGNHC, have decided to cut down on the number of surgeries they perform.
