Assemblyman Takasugi Suffers Heart Attack

Assemblyman Nao Takasugi was hospitalized in Sacramento on Monday after suffering a heart attack during his customary morning exercises--stunning friends, relatives and associates, who remarked on the 76-year-old’s exceptional fitness.

Takasugi, a Republican whose district stretches from Thousand Oaks to Oxnard, was in the middle of one of his regular brisk walks around Capitol Park when he apparently collapsed about a block from his home, authorities said.

A passerby noticed a fallen man clad in a running suit with a small gash on his head and called for an ambulance around 8:30 a.m., but authorities were unable to notify relatives for several hours because Takasugi was not carrying identification.

“He had passed out, fainted, and hit his head,” said his son Russell, a Simi Valley attorney. “He was lucky he was out in public, because he was alone this weekend.”

The former Oxnard mayor, one of only a handful of Asian Americans in the state Legislature, was taken to Sutter Memorial Hospital and remained in stable and good condition in the cardiac intensive care unit Monday afternoon.

Hospital officials did not know how long Takasugi--who suffered a complete blockage of one of his arteries--would be monitored at the hospital, but said he appeared to be recovering well.

“It sounds like he’s doing OK,” said hospital spokeswoman Kirsten Schneider.

Takasugi’s son Scott said he had shared a Father’s Day dinner with Takasugi the night before, and his father seemed to be in his usual good health and spirits.

The next morning, he was contacted by Takasugi’s aides, who were concerned because their typically punctual boss had missed several early appointments. Then he received a call from the hospital wondering if he could identify a man brought in after a heart attack.

“We had a wonderful Father’s Day dinner,” said Scott Takasugi, a Sacramento plastic surgeon. “He seemed OK. . . . There was no hint or evidence of any ill feeling.

“The surprising thing is that he has had no heart problems in the past,” he added. “I don’t know if Dad was coherent enough to give [medical personnel] information, but somehow, they tracked me down at my unlisted number.”

Takasugi’s wife, Judy, and his four other children were traveling to Sacramento to be with him Monday, Scott Takasugi said.

Aides said Takasugi usually walks two to three miles every morning and had never complained of health problems. In fact, he talked about his desire to work on his tennis game and seek a more active lifestyle once his third term was finished later this year. Friends joked that his tennis game needed no work.

Takasugi cannot seek reelection to represent the 37th Assembly District because of term limits.

“That’s why it’s such a shock to us,” said legislative assistant Dinora Ramirez. “He’s always been in good shape. He’s never had any problems at all.”

Republican leader Bill Leonard (R-San Bernardino) notified the Assembly of Takasugi’s heart attack Monday morning, and word spread quickly through Sacramento and Ventura County.

“He’s an enormously decent human being,” said Rich Sybert, whom Takasugi backed in a failed run for Takasugi’s seat. “I just hope his condition improves as quickly as possible.”

In addition to his years in the Assembly and decade as mayor of Oxnard from 1982 to 1992, Takasugi is well-known as the former owner of Oxnard’s historic Asahi Market, which his father founded in 1909. Like many Japanese Americans, Takasugi and his family were sent to an internment camp during World War II.

“He’s always been so strong,” said Ignacio “Nacho” Carmona of Oxnard, whose family ran the Asahi Market for the Takasugis during the Japanese internment. “Hopefully, he’ll get back on his feet soon.”