Imran Khan’s medical reports are alarming. I have gone through them with several specialists, and I am writing this in plain language so every Pakistani can understand exactly what is happening. In order of priority, this is what worries me most: his anxiety and stress levels, his palpitations, and his high blood pressure. Sleeplessness is not mentioned in the report, but looking at the medications, it is almost certainly there too.
I have known Imran Khan for more than 35 years. Stress was never his weakness. That it is now at peak levels tells you everything about what three years of imprisonment and total isolation have done to him. The causes are not hard to understand: the state of the country, his colleagues in jail, those sentenced, the killed, and their grieving families. His own isolation, no newspapers, no books, no knowledge of what is happening outside. And yes, his anxiety over Bushra Bibi, his sisters, his workers and his party. Look at the medications, as there is no diagnosis. He is on Citanil and Lexotanil, three times a day. That is not sleeplessness being treated. That is daytime anxiety being treated. Read that twice. His heart rate is 54 bpm. Doctors will call that “normal.” It is not normal for him.
His resting heart rate has been in the low 40s his whole adult life, the mark of a lifelong elite athlete. A jump to 54 is a real shift. He has reported heart palpitations. That is not something to note and move on from. It needs a 24-hour Holter monitor immediately, to catch the frequency and get him on the right medication. Even an Apple Watch linked to an Apple ID outside Pakistan (as that function is disabled in Pakistan) can flag Atrial Fibrillation and palpitations in real time. He is on three separate BP medications now. That requires proper daily AM/PM monitoring to titrate correctly, not once-a-week guesswork. He is also on a cholesterol-lowering drug. Raised cholesterol at his age is both genetic and stress-driven, and needs diet, exercise, and medication working together, as does his blood pressure. Less salt. More movement. Real monitoring.
And the following tests that must happen now, without further delay:
1) A Stress Test
2) An Echocardiogram
3) Cardiac MRI
4) Cardiac Artery Calcium (CAC) scan, because of raised cholesterol to check for calcified deposits that block arteries and lead directly to heart attacks or the need for stents.
5) Cardiac CT Angiogram and other tests if indicated.
I am deeply worried. Isolation is taking a physical toll on his body. If this is not addressed immediately, the damage may become irreversible with more complications to follow.
@ImranKhanPTI definitely needs to be moved to a hospital environment now,under an independent panel of doctors. Neither his family nor the people of Pakistan trust government-appointed doctors alone. We have already seen reports manipulated before, numbers exaggerated or suppressed, platelets among them. The next three months will decide whether his condition is reversed or becomes permanent. We all are alarmed. The country needs him more than ever before. May Allah keep him healthy. Ameen.
