PM gets pacemaker in overnight hospitalization; foreign trips postponed
"A week ago I was fitted with a monitoring device. That device beeped this evening and said I must have a pacemaker and that I must do this already tonight," PM says in video released after midnight. Late-night cabinet vote deputizes Justice Minister Yariv Levin to assume powers while operation carried out.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was fitted with a pacemaker overnight between Saturday and Sunday, after which he was said to be in good condition. His office said that he was set to be discharged on Sunday and with his family members as he recovers. His office said that his overseas trips to Turkey and Cyprus, which had been scheduled for late July, would have to be postponed since the procedure "requires weeks of follow-ups". Likewise, the weekly cabinet session was postponed.
On Sunday, doctors revealed that Netanyahu had been suffering from a minor heart condition for many years, and that is what prompted them to install the heart monitor a week earlier, even though his symptoms for the first hospitalization this month were for dehydration. Such decisions are common practice, since sometimes dehydration and other conditions could be related to heart problems.
Before he was admitted to the hospital, he released a video explaining that the operation had to be carried out immediately. Shortly afterward, Justice Minister Yariv Levin was chosen by the cabinet to assume the powers of the prime minister for the duration of the procedure, which was carried out while Netanyahu was partially conscious due to sedation.
"A week ago I was fitted with a monitoring device. That device beeped this evening and said I must have a pacemaker and that I must do this already tonight," Netanyahu said in the video late Saturday. "I feel great, but I need to listen to my doctors." He added that he hoped to get back to the Knesset on Sunday so that he can continue with the passage of the contested judicial reform, whose final vote is expected by Monday.
Netanyahu, 73, suffered dehydration earlier this month and had to be rushed to the Sheba-Tel Hashomer Medical Center, where he stayed overnight. A day later, the hospital said that no irregularities were found in tests that included subcutaneous heart monitoring following his admission for dehydration.
Later that day, before he was discharged and as part of additional medical tests, Netanyahu was fitted with the subcutaneous holter, or heart monitor, and found to be "in complete cardiac health," the hospital statement said.
However, this weekend, that device indicated that Netanyahu needs further treatment, resulting in his new hospitalization for the pacemaker procedure.
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