Nitin Sawhney rushed to hospital after “collapsing in a pool of blood”

7 March, 2024

Nitin Sawhney

Nitin Sawhney has revealed that he was “rushed to hospital” recently after suffering a heart attack.

The 59-year-old musician, producer and composer – who has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Sting and Brian Eno – shared a lengthy message on X/Twitter yesterday (March 6) about his serious health issue.

It came after Sawhney told his followers on Monday (March 4) that he was “about to go through something pretty major”, but said he couldn’t disclose any details. “Wish me luck,” he wrote in the post.

In a follow-up tweet, the musician said he had “decided to explain [himself]” further “after much reflection”.

“A few days ago, out of nowhere, I had a heart attack. Nuts…,” he began.

“I was rushed to hospital and the NHS put a stent in one of the arteries leading to my heart, after which I was kept in to await a similar operation (which I was referring to in my quoted post) on another artery.”

Sawhney continued: “Both ops have gone well and the NHS were fantastic. I will need a third, bigger operation next month but one day at a time I reckon… I weight train 3-4 times a week, regularly kick-box, eat healthily and had no history of heart disease.

“When I spoke to the doctor, he said it was probably a genetic predisposition… Basically, as a British Asian I have a significantly higher likelihood of cardiovascular disease or heart attacks. My dad had a triple heart bypass, my mum has had two attacks and three of my uncles had heart attacks with one dying on the spot.”

He went on to recall the “terrifying feeling” he had experienced, writing: “Your chest feels like someone is sitting on your chest holding a 200kg weight and your head feels like it’s spinning out of control as you struggle to remain conscious.

“In my case, I completely blacked out, falling onto a glass ornament from a standing position, smashing the coffee table with my face as I collapsed into a pool of blood and broken shards, penetrating both cheeks, my nose and the area just beneath my eyes.”

Sawhney said that a plastic surgeon later “had to carefully remove pieces of glass from my face with tweezers after 4 injections to my face”.

He said he was now “OK” and would be starting his UK tour as planned next month. However, Sawhney’s planned appearance at the WOMADelaide festival in Australia this month has been postponed until next year.

He has also pushed back his scheduled Manchester show on May 4 “to later in the year as that will be soon after my third heart operation”.

Sawhney added: “The point is there has been an alarming rise in fatalities from heart disease recently.. particularly amongst British Asians. So… if you are Asian or, to be honest, in any vulnerable group… get your heart health checked out.

“It could save your life. You might not see something like this coming… I didn’t.”

Sawhney received the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award back in 2017. He accepted a CBE in the New Year Honours list in 2019, having turned down an OBE in 2007.

Other artists Sawhney has collaborated with include Sinéad O’Connor, Ellie Goulding, Will Young and Jools Holland. His material combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of electronica, and often sees him explore multiculturalism, spirituality and politics.

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