Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel / Flash 90
UN Secy-Gen Ban Ki-moon and outgoing Pres. Shimon Peres. Wednesday July 23 2014

Former President Shimon Peres, 92, is reported in stable condition and resting comfortably after having undergone emergency cardiac catheterization Thursday morning.

Peres was rushed to Sheba Hospital at Tel Hashomer Medical Center after he reported feeling chest pains. A paramedic in his security detail encountered cardiac arrhythmia when he performed an EKG.

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Personal physician (and son-in-law) Professor Rafi Walden came to the home and after two consulted, decided to send the former president to the hospital, according to Galei Tzahal Army Radio.

An angiogram performed after his arrival at the hospital showed the former president had a narrowed artery, which had caused a mild heart attack.

The artery was opened during catherization and blood flow to the heart is now reported to be “very good,” according to Professor Michael Eldar, director of the Heart Institute at the hospital.

There are no other signs of atherosclerosis in any of the surrounding arteries or blood vessels, he added.

A visit to the Soreq Nuclear Research Center, and participation in the third annual Ladino Festival in Tel Aviv were set for Thursday. Both have been cancelled.

Peres served twice as prime minister and most recently as president, until 2014. He also is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which he was awarded in 1994 during his tenure as Israel’s foreign minister, jointly with the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat, “for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East.”

Nearly his entire career was spent as a member of the Labor Party.

About two weeks ago, a rumor was floated around the Internet that Peres had died – a spokesperson squelched the claim and issued a statement saying, “Shimon Peres would like to clarify that he is alive and well. The only thing occupying him at this moment is his dinner.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara have sent their wishes for a refuah sheleyma (quick return to complete, good health), via Yona Bartal, who is an assistant to the elder statesman.


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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.