Actor Nandamuri Taraka Ratna, who suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday, January 27, is now in a critical state, according to a media bulletin released by Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences (Narayana Hrudalaya) in Bengaluru on Saturday. Taraka Ratna had suddenly collapsed in Kuppam in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh while attending the launch of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh’s padayatra. Taraka Ratna is the grandson of TDP founder and actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. Lokesh and actor Jr NTR are his cousins, and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna is his uncle. He is a member of the TDP.
On Friday, after he collapsed suddenly during the padayatra launch after suffering a cardiac arrest, Taraka Ratna was shifted to a hospital in Kuppam where he was treated with resuscitation for 45 minutes and primary treatment, the bulletin said. He was later transferred to Narayana Hrudayala around 1 am on Saturday. A team of doctors from Narayana Hrudayalaya who earlier went to Kuppam to evaluate his condition had found that he had an “anterior wall myocardial infarction with balloon angioplasty, on intra-aortic balloon pump and vasoactive support.”
The statement further added that on arriving in Bengaluru, “higher level diagnostics showed that his condition was highly critical due to the cardiogenic shock after the myocardial infarction, and evaluation of his condition will continue with treatment under standard guidelines and protocols… He remains in a critical state on maximal support. He will continue to be under rigorous evaluation and treatment in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna and TDP chief and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu visited Taraka Ratna at the hospital. “Taraka Ratna's health condition worries me constantly, I hope he returns back stronger and better soon,” Nara Lokesh said in a statement. Taraka Ratna made his debut in films with the film Okato Number Kurraadu in 2002. He has also acted in films like Yuva Rathna, Bhadradri Ramudu, and more recently Manamantha and Raja Cheyyi Vesthe.