Vajpayee stable, still on ventilator

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's condition is “stable” but he continues to be on ventilator for the second day today with respiratory problems.

Doctors attending on him scotched rumours about his health. “All rumours about how serious his condition is, should not be believed. He is stable but still on ventilator,” Dr Sampath Kumar, head of Cardiac Thoracic Vascular Sciences of All India Insitute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said.

Kumar said Vajpayee's heart is stable but his lungs require support and that is why doctors are putting him on ventilation. “Probability of full recovery is there though he will take some time to recover completely because pneumonia is not a small disease,” he said, adding “his respiratory tract infection is the cause of his problem. But his liver, kidney and blood pressure are normal”.

The 84-year-old leader was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday with complaints of fever and chest congestion. Doctors later found that he was suffering from pneumonia. Vajpayee continues to be in the ICU where his progress is being monitored by a team of doctors.

Earlier in the day, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee separately visited AIIMS to enquire about the health of the BJP veteran. Senior BJP leader L K Advani, who is in Nagpur, also spoke to doctors at AIIMS attending him.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also conveyed his best wishes for the speedy recovery of his predecessor. Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary T K A Nair visited AIIMS and presented a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the Prime Minister and conveyed his get well wishes to Vajpayee.