Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, aged 81, was admitted to the Istishari Arab Hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, reportedly to receive cardiovascular tests after suffering from chest pains, foreign media reported.
The Associated Press reported that a Palestinian official had said Abbas was “rushed to the hospital” after falling ill and feeling ‘tired’
A hospital official added that Abbas underwent a cardiac catherization, a procedure used to test for cardiovascular issues.
Palestinian president Abbas leaves hospital after heart tests https://t.co/BqROcjgCIj
— marvinjr (@marvinjr) October 6, 2016
Abbas “collapsed from exhaustion,” Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported, citing a source close to his office.
However, a statement carried by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, and attributed to a presidential spokesman, said Abbas’ “health condition is very normal”.
PLO Secretary-General, Saeb Erekat, told USA Today that the heart tests undertaken confirmed the president was in “good health”. Another anonymous official said that “no one is panicking” about Abbas’ health condition.
Abbas leaves hospital after health scare, re-raising concerns over lack of a successor for the aging leaderhttps://t.co/z3bk1cu3ss pic.twitter.com/uoSqxgSOPW
— Ynetnews (@ynetnews) October 6, 2016
Erekat’s spokesperson was not available for immediate comment on Abbas’ health.
A hospital source told Ma’an that the president was receiving “regular medical check-ups” and confirmed that he was in a “normal medical condition.”
Abbas underwent a similar procedure in 2008 in Amman, Jordan after experiencing cardiovascular complications.
(PC, MA’AN, MEMO)
