Former Soviet President and Spy Both With Heart Disease
November 23, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is recovering after an operation at a Munich clinic to open his right internal carotid artery, which was 80% occluded by a cholesterol plaque. He was admitted to the hospital this past Sunday, November 19th, because he was experiencing pre-stroke symptoms. The operation will help increase blood flow to the brain and hopefully prevent a stroke. (RIA Novosti, November 23, 2006)
Meanwhile, former KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, suffered a heart attack last night while in the hospital being treated for liver damage and bone marrow deterioration. Doctors believe he may have been poisoned, possibly with radioactive thallium radioactive isotope Polonium-210.
From The Independent:
Friends of the ex-KGB officer believe he was poisoned by Russian security services because of his fierce criticism of Vladimir Putin’s regime – a claim denied by the Kremlin.
And that’s your world heart news update for the day.
Update: Alexander Litvinenko died last night, age 43. He said to friend Andrei Nekrasov before he slipped into a coma: “The bastards got me. But they won’t get everybody.”
Technorati Tags: mikhail gorbachev, russia, soviet union, alexander litvinenko, spy, heart, heart disease, carotid artery, poisoning, heart attack
