Doctor Sista Alphons, a cardiologist from India’s Devamatha Hospital in Kerala who attended to him has given a blow by blow account of the difficulties that Raila Amollo Odinga faced before taking the final bow.
According to Cardiologist Dr. Sr. Alphons, Raila Odinga’s condition deteriorated rapidly after he collapsed during his morning walk and could not be revived despite prolonged CPR efforts.
Dr. Alphons stated that Odinga was brought to Devamatha Hospital’s emergency unit at around 8:20 a.m. (Indian time) after collapsing near the Sreedhareeyam Ayurvedic Hospital, located close to the facility where he had been receiving treatment.
“He was brought to our emergency medicine department with the history of a sudden collapse during his morning walk. His doctor and security team had already initiated CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) before arrival,” she said.
“Upon arrival, we continued active CPR, performed emergency intubation to secure the airway, and transferred him to the ICU with full medical support.”
She noted that upon arrival, there was no detectable pulse or blood pressure, even on palpation. Dr. Sr. Alphons explained that after sustained resuscitation efforts, a brief cardiac rhythm appeared on the monitor, showing ST elevation on the ECG along with regional wall motion abnormalities — signs of significantly reduced movement in the heart’s anterior wall.
“This suggested hypokinesia, or reduced motion in that artery territory. We stabilised him with IV fluids and administered a clot-dissolving injection, reteplase, to address possible coronary blockage,” she said.
She further revealed that Odinga had noticeable swelling in his right leg, and according to information from his attending physician, he had been under treatment for diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease, as well as a previous right lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT) for which an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter had been inserted.
“Recently, he had also suffered a thin subdural hematoma, which was reviewed by a neurosurgeon last Saturday. After consulting with the neurosurgeon who accompanied the patient from Sree Tarim Hospital, we proceeded with thrombolysis using reteplase and continued CPR from 8:00 am until 9:52 am despite all ACLS protocols being followed,” she said.
“In spite of our continued cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other measures, we could not make him survive.” She added.
