Dr Padmavati, India’s First Female Cardiologist, Dies Due to COVID

Popularly known as the ‘Godmother of Cardiology’, Dr Padmavati was born in Burma in 1917.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@MrParashar)

India's first female cardiologist Dr S Padmavati passed away due to COVID-19, the National Heart Institute said in a statement on Sunday, 30 August. She was 103 years old when she breathed her last.

Popularly known as the 'Godmother of Cardiology', Padmavati was born in Burma in 1917 and migrated to India during World War II in 1942.

“She was admitted with COVID-19 and had breathing difficulty and fever. She developed pneumonia in both lungs and needed ventilator support. However, she sustained a cardiac arrest and passed away.”

NHI Statement

According to news agency PTI, she went on to set up the NHI in Delhi, in 1981. At that time, it was regarded as a modern heart hospital, with first cardiac catheterisation laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere.

Padmavati was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1967 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1992, among other accolades.

(With inputs from PTI)