NEW DELHI: A heart patient, Sheila Dikshit had undergone multiple surgeries over the past few years, but was doing well till Friday. On Saturday morning, the former Delhi CM complained of breathlessness. Her heart was beating faster than usual.Alarmed at this, her family rushed her to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in south Delhi, where she was already being treated for multiple heart ailments for nearly two decades. The 81-year-old suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on her way to the hospital, sources said. “When she reached the hospital at 10.40 am, she was unconscious and had no pulse,” doctors said.A multi-disciplinary team of medics, led by cardiologist Dr Ashok Seth, immediately carried out advanced resuscitative measures — cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation — which helped revive Sheila. She was stable and on ventilator support when she suffered another cardiac arrest at around 3 pm, the doctors said, adding that this time she could not be revived despite all resuscitative efforts. At 3.55 pm, the three-time chief minister of Delhi was declared dead.Sudden cardiac arrest is not a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked. On the other hand, a sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart malfunctions and causes an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). The heart cannot pump blood to the brain, lungs and other organs.There are many factors that can increase a person’s risk of sudden cardiac arrest including coronary artery disease (CAD), a condition Sheila suffered from. CAD patients have narrowing or blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. Sheila was first diagnosed with CAD in 2001 during a routine health check-up. Dr Naresh Trehan and his team conducted an open heart surgery on her to remove the blockage.Later, in 2006 and 2012, she underwent angioplasty twice for blocked artery under Dr Seth. It is non-surgical procedure to open up the clogged artery using a metal mesh tube also known as stent.“She had been my patient for nearly two decades. It’s a personal loss for me,” Dr Seth, chairman of FEHI, told TOI. Recently, on the advice of Dr Seth, Sheila had gone to France for a minimally invasive surgical procedure that involved repairing the aortic valve which maintains blood flow through the heart.One of Sheila’s close aides, who didn’t want to be quoted, said the former CM had undergone routine health check-up last week and it didn’t reveal any health scare. “She was very active and involved with charting out the plans to revive the Congress party in Delhi till Friday,” he said.Sheila’s demise left many doctors and nurses at FEHI, who had been taking care of her health for years, in a state of shock.