Karachi: Executive Director of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Prof Dr Tahir Saghir, has suffered an ischemic stroke and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Karachi, where doctors say the left side of his body has been affected.
Hospital officials said Dr Saghir was admitted to Room 402 of the OMI Hospital in Saddar at around 3am on Saturday after his condition deteriorated. He was initially taken to Imam Clinic, but was subsequently shifted to OMI Hospital after his blood pressure could not be controlled and further medical complications developed.
Doctors said he had suffered an ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood clot or another obstruction blocks blood flow to part of the brain, depriving brain tissue of oxygen. Details of his current neurological condition, treatment and recovery have not been officially released.
Hospital officials said Dr Saghir was reportedly registered under the name “Tahir Sahib”, with his age recorded as 57 years, at the time of admission. There have been claims that the details were entered to prevent disclosure of his identity and medical condition, although the circumstances surrounding the registration could not be independently verified.
The hospitalisation of the NICVD chief at a private healthcare facility has also brought attention to the institute’s own stroke intervention programme, particularly the availability of specialists and facilities for managing complicated stroke cases.
NICVD operates a stroke intervention programme that provides treatment to selected patients, including clot-dissolving medicines such as tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). The programme is currently headed by Dr Mahesh Batra, an interventional cardiologist.
Doctors familiar with the programme said Dr Irfan Lutfi, who was among the physicians involved in establishing and developing the stroke intervention service, had earlier resigned from NICVD and joined the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).
Dr Lutfi has experience in treating complicated stroke cases, particularly mechanical thrombectomy, a specialised procedure in which a blood clot blocking an artery in the brain is removed using catheter-based devices.
The procedure requires appropriately trained specialists, dedicated equipment and facilities capable of providing emergency neurovascular interventions. It is used in selected patients depending on the location of the blockage, the time since symptoms began and findings from brain imaging.
Some doctors at NICVD have also pointed to administrative disagreements and professional differences preceding Dr Lutfi’s departure, although these allegations could not be independently verified.
Dr Batra is qualified in cardiology and specialises in interventional cardiology. However, details of his specific training and experience in neurointerventional procedures, including mechanical thrombectomy, could not be independently established.
Responding to questions surrounding Dr Saghir’s treatment at a private hospital, the NICVD administration issued a statement describing reports questioning the institute’s medical capabilities as misleading and contrary to the facts.
An NICVD spokesperson said the institute was primarily a specialised cardiovascular hospital and not a comprehensive neurological treatment centre for all categories of stroke patients.
The spokesperson said NICVD provided advanced stroke interventions to selected patients who arrived within the initial four to six hours after the onset of symptoms and were found suitable for treatment following medical assessment.
“There is a clear medical distinction between stroke intervention and comprehensive neurological treatment of stroke patients,” the spokesperson said, adding that patients who did not require an intervention or were considered unsuitable for the procedure were referred to neurologists.
The spokesperson said the availability of CT scans and MRI facilities at a hospital did not necessarily mean that it could provide comprehensive treatment for every neurological condition.
The NICVD administration also rejected suggestions that Dr Saghir’s decision to receive treatment at a private hospital reflected a lack of confidence in the institute’s facilities.
According to the spokesperson, the choice of hospital for any patient depends on individual medical requirements and the availability of relevant specialists, and it would be incorrect to interpret treatment at another institution as evidence of shortcomings at NICVD.
The administration said the institute continued to provide free specialised cardiovascular services to hundreds of thousands of patients from across Pakistan and urged the media to verify medical information before reporting on the treatment of individual patients.
Medical experts say timely diagnosis and treatment are critical in ischemic stroke, but not every patient requires thrombolysis or mechanical thrombectomy. Treatment decisions depend on the type and severity of stroke, the time of symptom onset, brain imaging findings and the patient’s overall clinical condition.
No detailed medical bulletin has yet been issued regarding Dr Saghir’s current condition, the extent of neurological impairment or progress in his recovery.