Brazil's Temer recuperating after heart procedure: hospital

Brazilian President Michel Temer was spending the weekend recuperating in hospital after undergoing angioplasty in three blocked coronary arteries, doctors said Saturday.

Temer, 77, had the procedure to widen obstructed arteries and have at least one stent implanted at the heart unit of the Sirio-Libanes Hospital in Sao Paulo late Friday.

"The procedure was a success and the president is recuperating," Doctor Fernando Ganem, the medical supervisor, said in a statement.

However, Temer will only be released on Monday and therefore has had to put off a planned visit that day by Bolivia's President Evo Morales, the presidency in Brasilia said. Morales' trip to Brazil had already been delayed in October, again due to Temer's health problems.

"The Brazilian government is in contact with the Bolivian authorities to establish a new date," the presidency said.

Temer was admitted to hospital on Friday evening for a urological checkup and an exam of his arteries using a coronary catheter. The angioplasty was performed later, ending around midnight.

Globo television quoted doctors saying that Temer had been at risk of a heart attack and that stents were placed in two arteries to help them stay open.

In October, Temer was diagnosed with a slight blockage of a coronary artery, his office said. He was put on a low-fat diet and told to take aspirin.

Also in October, he was hospitalized after being diagnosed with a urological obstruction.

Source: AFP