Nana Patekar autopsy confirms heart attack caused by a blocked coronary artery

Nana Patekar, a veteran of Hindi and Marathi cinema, died of a heart attack, his autopsy report has confirmed. A senior doctor at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) said on Sunday that a blood clot had blocked the actor's left main coronary artery. That artery supplies blood to a large part of the heart.

The postmortem report gives the cause of death as "acute myocardial infarction due to left main coronary artery thrombosis secondary to atherosclerotic occlusive coronary artery disease, a natural cause of death".

Patekar was rushed to a private hospital from his home in Dona Paula, near Panaji, in the early hours of October 8. Doctors there said his caretaker came to them saying he was unwell and asked for an ambulance. One was sent to his apartment, which is less than a kilometre from the hospital. Doctors gave him CPR for 45 minutes, but he could not be revived. He was declared dead at 5.10 am, and his body was then taken to GMCH for the autopsy.

His son Malhar flew to Goa to take his father home. The body went first to Pune and then to his farmhouse in Donje village, where he was cremated with full state honours.

Mourners at the funeral included Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Union Ministers Ramdas Athawale and Murlidhar Mohol, Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare and FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. Actor Jackie Shroff came, as did actor Makarand Anaspure, who co-founded the NAAM Foundation. Many others from cinema and politics also attended.