A 64-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest and died while he was running in the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 on Sunday. As many as 1,350 other runners required medical attention.
The incident occurred at 9 a.m. when Gajanan Maljalkar, a resident of Nallasopara, collapsed after crossing the 4-km mark for senior citizens. He was rushed to the Bombay Hospital by the marathon volunteers but was declared dead upon arrival by the doctors. The body was later taken for post-mortem.
Another runner, Himanshu Thakker, 40, had to undergo an angioplasty after he had a heart attack. Anil Sharma, HOD Cardiology, Bombay Hospital, who performed the angioplasty, said the patient was stable after the procedure and was in ICU for observation. Another participant, Sanjay Bafna, 51, who was running the half-marathon, was admitted in ICU at Bombay Hospital following a brain stroke.
Dr. Vijay D’ Silva, director, critical care and medical affairs, Asian Heart Institute and medical director, Tata Mumbai Marathon and Procam International, said of the 55,322 participants, 1,350 required minor medical assistance.
“Nineteen runners suffered from severe dehydration. They are given intravenous re-hydration therapy at the base camp and sent home,” Dr. D’Silva said adding that there were 17 hospitalisations — nine at Bombay Hospital, six at Lilavati Hospital, and one each at GT and Hinduja hospitals.
Fourteen runners were discharged by noon. They included, one who suffered hyperkelemia, one with a leg fracture, and a runner who suffered jaw injury. Other cases were of dehydration and severe cramps, Dr. D’ Silva said.
For the marathon, Asian Heart Institute had set up 11 medical aid stations along the route, and two medical base camps (of 40 and 20 beds each) equipped to handle all emergencies.
The hospital also deployed 12 cardiac ambulances (each with a doctor and a nurse to ply on the entire route), besides eight ‘mobile medics’ (doctors on motorbikes along the entire route). Over 500 volunteers from the hospital including doctors, nurses, paramedical and support staff were on duty.
