Which disease killed Akhilesh Yadav’s brother Prateek?:Blood clot traveled from leg to lungs; what were the injury marks found on his body?

A blood clot formed in a vein in the leg, silently traveled to the lungs, and on the morning of May 13, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s brother Prateek Yadav suddenly died. The postmortem report revealed, ‘Pulmonary Thrombo Embolism’ as the cause for his death. Six injury marks were also found on his body. What kind of disease is pulmonary embolism and is there any connection between this and the injury marks found on Prateek’s body; we will learn in today’s explainer… What was revealed in Prateek Yadav’s postmortem report?
Prateek, son of Mulayam Singh Yadav’s second wife Sadhana, suddenly fell ill on the morning of May 13. According to Dr. DC Pandey, Chief Medical Superintendent at Lucknow’s Civil Hospital – when Prateek was brought in, his pulse was completely down. His heart had also stopped. The postmortem of Prateek was conducted at King George Medical College, i.e., KGMU in Lucknow. The preliminary postmortem report released on the evening of May 13 stated that large amounts of blood clots had formed in Prateek’s lungs, which caused the heart and lungs to stop functioning. What exactly is Pulmonary Thromboembolism?
The disease cited behind Pratik’s death has 3 terms- Pulmonary, meaning a problem related to the lungs, Thrombo, meaning blood clot, and Embolism, meaning an obstruction in the body’s arteries. ‘Pulmonary Thrombo-Embolism’ is called PE in medical terminology. In this condition, a blood clot from another part of the body reaches inside the lungs or the blood vessels going to the lungs and blocks the blood flow. Due to this, the lungs cannot function and oxygen does not reach other parts of the body. This leads to cardiac arrest and death. Usually, this clot starts forming in the veins of the leg or pelvic region. Then it breaks off and travels with the blood flow to reach the lungs. According to a report by Cleveland Clinic, a medical center in America, at least one lakh people die every year in America due to PE. However, there is no concrete record of deaths from this disease in India. How does this disease occur?
Most cases of PE begin with DVT, that is ‘Deep Vein Thrombosis’. In this, a blood clot usually starts forming in the vein of the leg. DVT can occur due to 4 major reasons: 1. Remaining inactive for a long time 2. Any surgery or injury 3. Blood clotting disorders 4. Cancer or some other diseases Hormone therapy and some contraceptive pills can also increase the risk of PE. Additionally, obesity, kidney disease, the vein condition ‘varicose veins’, family history of DVT or PE, taking certain medications like steroids, smoking, and any type of infection can also cause DVT and PE. How common is sudden death in this disease?
Usually, symptoms of PE appear suddenly. In some cases, pain, swelling, and warmth may be felt in the legs. According to Cleveland, approximately one-third of people affected by PE die within a few hours. Often before treatment can be received. Is PE the only reason behind Prateek’s sudden death?
According to media reports, Prateek had been suffering from high blood pressure and DVT for about 5 years and was undergoing treatment. Reena Singh, a close friend of Prateek’s wife Aparna, revealed that 4 months ago they came to know that Prateek had a lung infection, for which he underwent surgery. On April 30 also, Prateek was admitted due to complaints of breathing difficulty and chest pain. He got some relief in 3 days. Reports suggest that he left for home on his own without taking discharge. Dr. Ruchita Sharma, Associate Director of the Medicine Department at Medanta Hospital, said, Prateek was our old patient. I had been treating him for quite some time for issues like high blood pressure, hypertension and DVT. Just a few days ago, he was admitted here due to breathlessness after suffering from pulmonary embolism. Actually, for the treatment of PE, blood thinning medicines called ‘blood thinners’, i.e., anticoagulant drugs are given for a few days. If it’s a serious case, the clot is also removed through operation or surgery. In some cases, a mesh is placed in a large vein in the abdomen, so that the clot doesn’t reach the lungs. According to Dr. Ruchita Sharma, Prateek was regularly taking blood thinning and BP medicines. What happened this time is difficult to say. Dr. Satish Kumar, operator of Lifeline Hospital in Uttar Pradesh and senior neurosurgeon, says, It is necessary to keep PE patients hospitalized for treatment so that their condition can be continuously monitored. If PE treatment is not completed, some blood clots may remain. Due to DVT, clots can form again and PE can occur. According to Dr. Satish, it is possible that Prateek’s therapy was not completed and he took discharge from the hospital without taking the full dose. In such a case, the most probable possibility is that he suddenly had PE, which caused his lungs and then heart to stop functioning. Is there any connection with the injury marks on Pratik’s body?
According to the postmortem report, injury marks were found at a total of 6 places on Pratik’s body including chest, right hand, elbow, left hand… All of these have been described as ‘contusion’, meaning internal injury marks. Additionally, ecchymosis, meaning blood clotting marks, were found beneath all the injuries. The report states that all injuries occurred before death. The first, second and third injuries are 5 to 7 days old, while the fourth, fifth and sixth injuries are approximately 1 day old. According to Dr. Satish Kumar, ‘There could be injury marks on the leg due to PE or DVT, but the kind of marks on Prateek’s body are unlikely to be related to this disease. Such marks can also occur due to other medical conditions, allergies or medications.’ What questions about Prateek’s death remain unanswered?
The injury marks on Prateek’s body are from before his death. There is still no clear information about how these marks occurred. In his first statement on Prateek’s death, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had indicated that Prateek was under stress due to financial circumstances. On January 19, Pratik suddenly announced his divorce from Aparna on an Instagram post, saying – ‘Aparna made my life hell.’ However, after 9 days, both reconciled. Pratik shared a picture with Aparna and wrote – ‘All is Good’, meaning everything is fine. In such a situation, people are raising many questions on social media…. The entire heart and lung thromboembolic material, meaning the clotted parts, have been preserved for further investigation. Additionally, viscera, meaning internal organ samples, have also been preserved so that any poison or chemical can be confirmed. SP leader Ravidas Mehrotra has demanded that the death of Prateek should be investigated by a former High Court judge. (Graphics: Neha Sahu)