Infograph: What’s the deal with Nawaz’s platelet count?

Nawaz Sharif has been granted a two month suspension of his jail sentence as his health has been deteriorating over the past week. It’s all over the news. His doctor said in court that ‘we might lose Nawaz Sharif’, and tweeted that the ‘definitive diagnosis’ hasn’t been confirmed yet.

What exactly is a low platelet count and why is it so serious?

Platelets are what helps our blood clot when we hurt ourselves. When needed (example if you cut yourself) they are activated and stick to one another to block the flow of blood from the damaged blood vessels.

A normal platelet count range is from 150,000 to 450,000. Nawaz’s was 6,000 which is dangerously and critically low. If the platelet count is under 20,000 it can lead to uncontrollable bleeding.

In the past eight days, Nawaz’s platelet count first dropped to 2,000 on Oct 22nd. After treatment it rose to 29,000 and then dropped back down to 7,000 on Oct 23rd. It then went up to 20,000 according to the doctors but the PML-N claimed it was at 6,000. On October 25th it was steady at 22,000, rose to 45,000 on Oct 26th but fell back down to 25,000 on Oct 27th. It rose to 28,000 on Oct 28th and remained there on the 29th.

He also suffered an angina attack while at the hospital. Angina is a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart.