BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has had a permanent pacemaker implanted at Evercare Hospital in the capital.

A group of specialist doctors, led by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, successfully installed the pacemaker in Khaleda Zia's chest on Sunday, said her personal physician Prof AZM Zahid Hossain.

"Alhamdulillah, we've completed the process of implanting the pacemaker in Madam's chest," Zahid told UNB around 7pm.

He said a permanent pacemaker was implanted in Khaleda's chest on the advice of the medical board formed for her treatment at the hospital.

Zahid said the BNP chief was kept under close observation in the CCU for the next 72 hours following the pacemaker implantation.

Later, he said the medical board will make further decisions regarding her treatment.

He said the doctors initiated the process of installing the pacemaker at the hospital after taking Khaleda to a specially equipped room in the afternoon.

Zahid, also a BNP vice chairman, said Khaleda had previous heart issues involving blockages that were treated with stenting.

"After a thorough assessment, the medical board decided to implant the pacemaker in her heart," the physician said.

On behalf of BNP and Khaleda Zia's family, he requested the people of the country to pray for the speedy recovery of the former minister.

On June 11, 2022, Khaleda Zia was diagnosed with multiple blockages in her heart at Evercare Hospital. One of these blockages was 95% blocked and was treated with stent placement at that time.

A medical board member, speaking anonymously, said that since the BNP chief's admission to the hospital early Saturday, they have held several meetings to address the abnormality in her heartbeats. "We have finally decided to implant a pacemaker on the former prime minister's chest to address the problem."

A pacemaker is a small electronic device implanted in the chest to help control one's heartbeat. It is used when the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or irregularly due to a heart attack, heart failure, or another problem that has damaged the heart's natural electrical system.

Pacemakers are usually implanted as a permanent treatment, but they are sometimes used as a temporary measure to stabilize heart rhythms in people recovering from a heart attack, heart surgery, or a medication overdose that slowed their heart rate.

Khaleda Zia was rushed to Evercare Hospital in an ambulance at around 3:30 am on Saturday as she suddenly fell ill at her residence, 'Firoza' in Gulshan. She was quickly admitted to the CCU, where her medical treatment began under the supervision of a medical board.

The former prime minister, aged 79, has long been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart, and eyes.

Since her conditional release from prison in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving medical care frequently at the hospital under the supervision of a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof. Shahabuddin Talukder.

Khaleda's doctors have been advising sending her abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.

On October 26 last year, three US specialist doctors completed a hepatic procedure known as the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to stop water accumulation in Khaleda's stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.