November 7, 1995
Web posted at: 1:05 p.m. EST
From CNN State Department Correspondent Steve Hurst
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After initially using the word "severe" to describe Russian President Boris Yeltsin's heart attack on October 26, State Department sources now say that word overstates the case. The sources said the Clinton administration still has deep concerns about Yeltsin's condition.
The sources said intelligence reports now indicate that Yeltsin's condition has been stabilized but that he is in no shape to run Russia and that his aides and wife are trying to decide if he should leave the country for treatment, which the CIA says is necessary if Yeltsin is to stand a chance of a long term recovery. The intelligence agency believes Yeltsin needs either heart bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty to help restore circulation to his damaged heart.
State Department sources also said that Yeltsin's wife, Naina, does not want her husband to run for the presidency again in June 1996. However, they also said she opposes him leaving Russia for treatment.
Yeltsin's condition precludes him from having an active influence on parliamentary elections next month because he will not be able to actively campaign for anyone, the sources added.
Russian authorities had said Yeltsin suffered from ischemia, a condition in which clogged arteries slow blood flow to the heart.
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