Sharif diagnosed with complicated heart disease, says personal physician

Ailing former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, under treatment in London, has been diagnosed with a complicated heart disease and will undergo further scans to finalise a treatment plan, his personal physician has said.

The 69-year-old PML-N supremo had left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance to seek medical treatment, a month after he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence for corruption.

In a tweet on Thursday, the three-time premier's personal physician Adnan Malik said Sharif underwent comprehensive cardiovascular evaluation at the Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospital in London, the Dawn News reported.

Sharif is "diagnosed of complicated coronary artery/Ischemic Heart Disease with significant disease burden" and will undergo further scans before treatment begins, he said.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries due to which the heart doesn't receive the blood it needs, leading to acute chest pain and, in some cases, a fatal heart attack.

Last week, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said doctors had advised that Sharif be shifted to the US for treatment.

According to media reports, Sharif's family has contacted the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the US for treatment of Sharif's blocked carotid artery.

Earlier this month, his family sources said Sharif will likely fly to the US on December 16 for medical treatment of his ailment. However, his son, Hussain Nawaz, told reporters in London on Monday that it will be difficult to take his father to the US until his platelet count get stabilised.

Hussain said Sharif contracted various diseases during his jail term in Pakistan.

Sharif was shifted from jail to the Services hospital in Lahore in October after his health condition deteriorated. Doctors then recommended him to get treatment abroad.

The Pakistan government allowed Sharif's travel for medical reasons but put the condition that he submit an indemnity bond as a guarantee that he would return to the country after getting treatment. He, however, rejected the condition and challenged it in courts.

Sharif was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court on humanitarian grounds in the Al Azizia case and by the Lahore High Court in the ongoing Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, in which he is a suspect.

In November, he was allowed by the Lahore High Court to travel abroad for treatment without any bond.