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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: January 3, 2006 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be given general anesthesia during a heart procedure on Thursday and turn over his duties to his deputy, Ehud Olmert, the prime minister's office said Tuesday.
Olmert will assume Sharon's duties for about three hours while doctors perform the procedure, known as cardiac catheterization, to seal a small hole in the prime minister's heart. The hole was discovered after Sharon's mild stroke on Dec. 18 and is believed to have led to the stroke.
Doctors say Sharon, 77 and overweight, suffered no permanent damage, and the procedure will virtually eliminate the risk of a similar stroke. Sharon is expected to be hospitalized for 24 hours, doctors said.
Located in the partition between the upper chambers of his heart, the hole is less than 2 millimeters (a tenth of an inch) wide and is a common birth defect found in 15 percent to 20 percent of the population, doctors said.
Using a catheter inserted through a blood vessel, doctors will put an "umbrella-like" device over the hole to seal it. A small camera inserted through the esophagus will guide the doctors, doctors said last week.
The procedure will take place at Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem in Jerusalem, the same hospital that treated Sharon for the stroke, hospital officials said.
The stroke put the health of Sharon on the political agenda as he seeks a third term in March 28 national elections. Despite the health concerns, opinion polls forecast a strong victory for Sharon, the country's most popular politician.
Doctors said Sharon briefly lost the ability to speak during the stroke. He resumed his full work schedule Dec. 25. |
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