11 deaths of heart patients in a day 'little unusual', says Mysuru's Jayadeva hospital, but rejects negligence charge

Mysuru: Eleven heart patients died within 24 hours at the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Mysuru, prompting the Karnataka Health Department to order an inquiry. But hospital authorities have rejected allegations of negligence or denial of treatment, insisting that all the patients were critically ill when they arrived.

The deaths occurred between 8 am on Tuesday and 8 am on Wednesday at the government-run cardiac hospital, one of the largest dedicated heart-care centres in South East Asia.

The deaths sparked concern after relatives alleged that doctors were unavailable, particularly in the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU).

They alleged that the emergency ward had no doctors on duty from 4 am. They barged into the ward and demanded the phone number of the doctors. Videos recorded by the protesters showed the doctor's chair empty, with just two nurses in the ward. "Jayadeva Hospital, Mysuru. There isn't a single doctor here. Only one nurse. Just one nurse. This is an emergency," said an exasperated protester.

"District in-charge minister, local MLA, chief minister and health minister must answer this. At Jayadeva Hospital in Mysuru, nobody is here to explain what is happening. Look here. Eleven patients have died," said another protester.

Senior doctors of the hospital called a press conference in Mysuru on Wednesday.

Hospital superintendent and Professor of Cardiology Dr K S Sadananda acknowledged that the number of deaths was "a little unusual" but said it was not unprecedented for a tertiary-care referral hospital handling some of the state's sickest cardiac patients.

"The number was higher than average only yesterday. There were 11 deaths. On other days, there may be two or three deaths," he said.

Sadananda dismissed the allegation that doctors were not available at the ICU and produced the doctor who was on duty that night. "This is Dr Sreenidhi. He was on duty yesterday and remained in the hospital throughout the night. He even slept here. We have CCTV footage of everything," he said.

According to the superintendent, three doctors were on duty throughout the night -- one in casualty, one in the ICU area and Dr Sreenidhi as the senior doctor on duty. "What happened was that a doctor had stepped into a nearby room provided for rest when there were no immediate emergencies. Someone recorded a video of an empty chair and circulated it, claiming there were no doctors," he said.

Dr Sadananda said the hospital's mortality data did not support allegations of a systemic failure. In 2025, the hospital recorded 1,245 deaths among 21,500 admissions, translating into a mortality rate of 5.7%, he said. Historical data dating back to 2010 showed annual mortality rates ranging between 6% and 8%.

"This year's mortality rate is also around 5% to 6%. This is an internationally accepted figure for a tertiary-care referral hospital," he said. But added: "What happened yesterday is that we had an unusually high number of deaths... It was unfortunate that this happened yesterday. But all the doctors were on duty. Dr Sreenidhi personally attended to patients. He was the senior doctor on duty."

The superintendent said almost all of the patients who died in the past 24 hours had been admitted in extremely critical condition and brought in 12 to 24 hours after the critical golden hour window for emergency cardiac intervention had passed.

He also said that those who died were aged between 65 and 80 years old. "Most were aged 70 or 80 and had suffered severe heart attacks, advanced heart failure or similar conditions. They were all extremely sick and on their deathbeds. There was no case where someone who was otherwise stable suddenly died," said Dr Sadananda.

The Mysuru branch of Jayadeva serves as the primary cardiac referral centre for five districts, receiving critically ill patients from hospitals in Kodagu, Hassan, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar, apart from Mysuru.

"Simple cases are treated locally. Only the most serious patients are referred to us. Many are already critical when they arrive," Sadananda said.

Overcrowded and understaffed
Yet even as he defended the hospital's handling of the deaths, the superintendent acknowledged severe pressure on staff and infrastructure. "We are all working overtime, at nearly double our capacity. Each doctor is doing the work of two doctors," he said.

The hospital's website carries a notice stating: "All ICU beds are full, Please co-operate and this is for your understanding."

On a typical day, the hospital sees between 1,200 and 1,400 outpatients. According to Sadananda, six or seven doctors often handle between 900 and 1,000 outpatients daily.

The pressure was visible in the ICU on the day the deaths occurred.

One of the institute's intensive cardiac care units has 18 beds. On Tuesday, it was treating 25 patients. "We had around 10 patients on trolleys because there were no beds available. We had 25 patients in a unit designed for 18. All of them were receiving treatment," Sadananda said.

The hospital currently has around 65 doctors across all specialities, including about 20 cardiologists. However, Sadananda said the institution urgently needs another 10 to 15 junior doctors to provide round-the-clock ICU coverage. "The government is willing to recruit. We are ready to recruit. But postgraduate entrance examinations are next month, and many junior doctors are on leave preparing for them. After the exams, we expect a large inflow of doctors," he said.

Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research operates under the Karnataka government as an autonomous institution. Across its campuses, it has 1,150 beds dedicated exclusively to cardiac care, treats around 40,000 inpatients annually, performs about 3,000 open-heart surgeries and nearly 30,000 catheterisation laboratory procedures each year.

The Karnataka Health Department said the deaths warranted scrutiny because a large number of patients from the same category had died within a short period at a single institution. An inquiry has been ordered.