Yeltsin hospitalized with pneumonia
January 8, 1997
Web posted at: 3:40 p.m. EST (2040 GMT)
MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin was
hospitalized Wednesday after being diagnosed with the "first
signs of pneumonia," his official press service said.
Yeltsin, 65, was readmitted to the Central Clinical
Hospital, also known as the Kremlin hospital in suburban
Moscow, just two months after undergoing a heart bypass
operation. He was taken to the hospital at about 9 p.m. local time.
A presidential press service spokesman said Yeltsin was
diagnosed with his illness during a routine physical
examination. The spokesman would not elaborate on the
president's condition, except to say that Yeltsin was not
running a fever.
Chief Kremlin doctor Sergei Mironov is supervising the
medical team that is treating the president.
Dr. Michael DeBakey, who served as a consultant for Yeltsin's
surgery last year, told CNN that the pneumonia is not related
to the operation.
"I expect him to be all right, and I would say that in a matter of three days to a week you're going to see improvement and (he'll) probably leave the hospital," DeBakey said.
Yeltsin became ill with the flu Monday, only two weeks after
returning to full-time work. He had been largely sidelined
for six months due to heart problems, which included
quintuple bypass surgery on November 5.
Yeltsin's heart surgeon, Dr. Renat Akchurin, had said earlier
Wednesday that the president has a common cold and that his
condition was no cause for alarm.
State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns, appearing on CNN's
"TalkBack Live," said Americans should not overreact to the
news of Yeltsin's pneumonia and that the Russian president
had been carrying out his duties since the heart surgery.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs caused by bacteria
or viruses and can be potentially life-threatening if not
detected and treated early.
Related stories:
- Healthier Yeltsin returns to work - December 23, 1996
- Yeltsin goes back to work on Monday - December 20, 1996
- Yeltsin pleased with rapid passage of Russian budget - December 15, 1996
- Yeltsin meets with chief of staff - November 29, 1996
- Yeltsin, Russian economy, both
trying to recover - November 22, 1996
- Yeltsin lively after surgery, doctors say - November 17, 1996
- Russian politics, economy riding on outcome of Yeltsin surgery - November 4, 1996
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