Medical board confirms Imran Khan’s fluctuating blood pressure, palpitations and anxiety linked to stress. Doctors urge daily walks, family meetings and heart scan after August examination at Adiala Jail.
Webdesk- Madiha Bhatti
What the Medical Board Found on August 10
Former prime minister Imran Khan is dealing with fluctuating blood pressure, frequent palpitations, headaches and a constant sense of restlessness. These details come from an official medical report that the Adiala Jail superintendent submitted to the Supreme Court. A four-member medical board examined him on August 10, 2026. Among the doctors was senior cardiologist Dr Akhtar Ali Bandeshah from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
The examination recorded his blood pressure at 140/80 mmHg and his pulse at a low 54 beats per minute. The electrocardiogram came back normal, showing no electrical problems in the heart. An echocardiogram, however, detected a mild abnormality in blood flow between the heart chambers. The valves and the chambers themselves remained within normal limits. Khan reported a heavy feeling in his head and episodes of palpitations, yet he has not suffered shortness of breath or chest pain. The board listed anxiety as a major contributing factor.
How Stress Is Driving the Symptoms
Dr Bandeshah directly connected many of the symptoms to the conditions of imprisonment. Infrequent meetings with family, especially with his wife, and the complete absence of newspapers, magazines and television have created prolonged mental pressure. The cardiologist noted that this sustained stress is likely aggravating both the blood-pressure swings and the sense of restlessness. Anxiety itself appears as a significant clinical concern that needs active management alongside the physical findings.
Recommended Steps to Lower Pressure and Anxiety
The medical board issued clear recommendations. Khan should be allowed a full hour of walking every day inside the jail premises. He should also receive regular access to newspapers, magazines, television and other reading material. Most importantly, the doctors asked for more frequent meetings with his immediate family and spouse. Greater family contact, they said, could ease anxiety and help stabilise blood pressure.
Further medical tests were also advised. The board recommended a CT coronary angiography to examine the blood vessels of the heart in detail. Routine blood work, including a complete blood count, kidney-function tests and the NT-proBNP marker that detects heart strain, should be carried out. Khan is to continue his existing medications while new treatment for blood pressure and anxiety is introduced.
Why These Findings Matter Now
The report arrives at a moment when Khan’s health has already drawn public and legal attention. Fluctuating blood pressure combined with documented anxiety raises questions about the long-term effects of isolation. The doctors’ emphasis on simple measures—daily movement, news access and family contact—shows that many of the current problems may be reversible if conditions improve. At the same time, the call for advanced cardiac imaging underlines that the medical team is taking the mild echocardiogram finding seriously and wants a clearer picture of the heart’s blood vessels.
What Comes Next
The Supreme Court now holds the medical board’s findings. How the jail authorities and the court respond to the recommendations on family meetings, media access and further tests will determine whether Khan’s blood pressure and anxiety can be brought under better control. For the moment, the report stands as the most detailed official account of his condition inside Adiala Jail: blood pressure that rises and falls, a heart showing only a mild flow abnormality, and anxiety strongly linked to restricted contact with the outside world and his family.
