Stories
Heart attack at 37 and a stranger's heartbeat: Chanchal Yadav's 11-year struggle
- •Chanchal Yadav suffered a mild heart attack at age 37 in 2015, which was diagnosed three months later after significant damage had already occurred.
- •His physical capacity steadily declined over 11 years, eventually making even walking difficult and forcing him to quit sports like volleyball and badminton.
- •On September 17, he received a new lease on life through a heart transplant after a donor heart was rushed 95 kilometers from Rohtak to Delhi via a green corridor.
- •The successful surgery was performed at Fortis Hospital by a team of specialists, allowing Chanchal to return home after 25 days with hopes of playing badminton again.
Key Questions Answered
Chanchal Yadav suffered a mild heart attack in 2015 at the age of 37, which went unnoticed for about three months until significant heart damage had already occurred. This led to a progressive decline in his physical capacity, making even walking difficult and forcing him to stay away from sports for 11 years.
The donor heart was transported over a distance of approximately 95 kilometers from PGIMS Rohtak in Haryana to Fortis Hospital in Delhi in just 63 minutes. The rapid transit was made possible through a coordinated inter-state green corridor established by law enforcement authorities and medical teams.
In July 2026, doctors implanted a special implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in Chanchal Yadav's body. This device was designed to deliver an electrical shock to restore a normal rhythm if his heartbeat became dangerously irregular while waiting for a donor heart.
