Former Romanian President Hospitalized for Heart Condition

Senator Ion Iliescu (and former Romanian President) was subjected yesterday to heart surgery, described by doctors as "a minor intervention," since it was conducted via his blood vessels.

The probe dissenting into his heart actually analyzed the status of the blood vessels there. Dr. Serban Balanescu of the Emergency Hospital Floreasca performed the probing, while a team led by Dr. Serban Bradisteanu was standing by to perform surgery proper on the former president, if need be.

Mircea Geoana, president of the Social Democrat Party (of which Iliescu is a member) said that Iliescu does not want any of the party leaders to visit him at the hospital. Geoana conveyed during a press-conference his and his colleagues’ whishes of good health to the former Romanian president and SDP leader. "For obvious reasons, we did not want to comment on what happened during this week-end," Geoana said.

Iliescu’s heart condition developed during this week-end, following his Saturday’s speech at the SDP Congress, where he expressed his discontent for being deposed from the position of party leader he expected to regain after ending his last mandate as President of Romania.

Geoana also appealed to the media to not give political connotations to Iliescu’s health issues. He said that "it was important Iliescu’s condition was not serious" and that the former president will make a speedy recovery.