Angiogram on President to open coronary artery

President Eddie Fenech Adami is taking a short break from official duties after having a "critically-narrowed coronary artery" treated during an intervention last Friday, the President's Office said yesterday.

Dr Fenech Adami underwent an angiogram to introduce a stent that opened the artery after a scan the day before revealed possible cardiac ischaemia, meaning that not enough blood and oxygen were flowing into the heart.

The narrowed artery was discovered on Thursday, when the 74-year-old President had a post-exercise myocardial perfusion scan following recent chest discomfort.

The scan involves the injection of a chemical in the blood, which is taken up by the heart muscle, allowing doctors to detect whether any part of the heart is not receiving enough blood. Such a scan is regularly carried out following exercise as problems tend to be more visible.

The President's Office said the procedure was successful and Dr Fenech Adami was now following doctors' recommendations and taking a week's rest from official duties. A state visit to Libya scheduled for today and tomorrow, during which he had been expected to meet Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, was cancelled.

This was not Dr Fenech Adami's first cardiac-related intervention. Back in 1997 he had suffered a transient ischaemiac attack and he also underwent a triple bypass surgery in March 1999. The surgery, preformed by renowned cardiac surgeon Alex Manchè, had gone well and Dr Fenech Adami was discharged from hospital after six days.

Newly-elected Labour leader Joseph Muscat yesterday phoned Dr Fenech Adami to wish him well. The President congratulated the 34-year-old MEP on his appointment, the MLP said.