Khaleda Zia transferred to cabin at Evercare Hospital

The BNP chief had a pacemaker installed on her heart after falling ill

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been shifted from the Coronary Care Unit at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka to a cabin, according to her personal physician Dr Zahid Hossain.

“After madam was visited by members of her medical team, they reviewed everything, and she was shifted from the CCU to a cabin with all facilities at 4:45pm.”

“She is being treated under close observation there.”

A ‘permanent pacemaker’ was successfully implanted in the former prime minister’s heart on Monday. She was then kept under observation for 24 hours at the CCU.

The medical team led by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder sat for a meeting on Monday afternoon to review the BNP chief’s medical reports from the past 12 hours. They then visited Khaleda in the CCU, held another meeting, and decided to relocate her to the cabin.

Dr Zubaida Rahman, Khaleda Zia’s daughter-in-law and a cardiologist from London, along with specialists from the US and Australia, were also connected virtually as members of the medical team.

Khaleda had previously had heart issues. Three blocks had previously been found. She also had a ring installed. After considering the overall situation, the foreign doctors and the medical team decided to install the pacemaker.

The former prime minister was rushed to Evercare Hospital around 3:30am on Friday when her health deteriorated.

The 79-year-old Khaleda suffers from a range of medical issues including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and various complications with her lungs, liver, and kidneys.

She has been hospitalised several times before this, most recently on May 2 at Evercare. She stayed in the CCU for two days.

Khaleda was sent to jail in 2018 after her conviction in a graft case. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, at the request of her family, the government issued an executive order granting her temporary release from jail on two conditions. The conditions are that she has to receive treatment from home and cannot leave the country.

Over the past few years, her family has repeatedly sought permission to take Khaleda abroad for treatment, but the government has remained steadfast in its refusal, reiterating the conditions of her release.