Madinah health centre saves Hajj pilgrim whose heart stopped for eight minutes

More than 90,000 people have received treatment at airport clinic since Hajj season began

Photo: SPA

The medical team in Madinah has saved the life of an Indonesian woman whose heart stopped for eight minutes after she arrived in Saudi Arabia for Hajj.

The woman landed at the city's Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport.

Staff at the airport medical centre stabilised her, before she was transferred to hospital, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Since Hajj season began in the kingdom last month, the medical centre has given care to more than 90,000 people.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the kingdom's health authorities have expanded their efforts to provide treatment and operations to pilgrims this year, free of charge.

Authorities prepared 172 hospitals and health centres at holy sites in Makkah and Madinah to serve Hajj pilgrims this year.

The ministry has outlined a list of guidelines for pilgrims with chronic diseases before and after coming to the kingdom to perform Hajj.

The ministry recommended that Hajj pilgrims who take regular medication should bring a sufficient amount of it, and copies of their prescription and a medical report.

A medical team at King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah has treated an Iranian pilgrim who presented with complete retinal detachment and severe myopia.

Doctors performed an operation to remove a cataract and implant a lens for the man's eye, in addition to fixing the retina to restore his vision.

Doctors have said the pilgrim will be able to complete Hajj, which is set to begin on June 26.

About three million pilgrims are expected to perform Hajj this year.