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Sharon's doctors (AP file).
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| By Associated Press January 24, 2006 |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's health problems were more serious than doctors let on after he suffered a minor stroke in December, including a large aneurysm in the septum between the chambers of his heart, the Haaretz newspaper reported Tuesday.
Sharon, comatose since suffering a massive second stroke on Jan. 4, also suffered from a shunt that causes blood to flow in the wrong direction through a tiny hole in the septum that he was born with, the newspaper said.
The aneurysm is a known source of cerebral blood clots, the newspaper said. The prime minister also had other conditions in the cardiac septum that made him vulnerable to blood clots that could enter his brain, the newspaper said.
After the first stroke, on Dec. 18, which was caused by a small blood clot, Sharon's neurologist, Dr. Tamir Ben-Hur, said the prime minister's overall condition was generally good, except for his obesity. Blood thinners were prescribed to lessen the risk of further clotting, but they also increased the risk of hemorrhaging in the brain.
Shortly after, doctors disclosed in a news conference that Sharon had a tiny hole in his cardiac septum, which was to have been repaired on Jan 5. On the eve of that procedure, he suffered the second stroke.
The second stroke was caused by a burst blood vessel and attended by severe cerebral bleeding, raising questions over whether the prescription of blood thinners was in order.
Hadassah Hospital spokeswoman Yael Bossem-Levy said in response to the news report on Tuesday that "nothing in Haaretz is new. Everything that appears in the item was discussed at the news conference" where the hole in the septum was disclosed, she said.
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