Former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is under intensive
care at Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) after she was found to have
heart problems, the military hospital’s top official said Friday.
Dr. Nona Legaspi, VMMC director,
told a press briefing that Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, was placed
under intensive care at 3pm Friday.
Arroyo was accompanied by her
daughter Luli, when she was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU), according
to lawyer Raul Lambino.
Lambino, who also saw Arroyo at
the ICU, said the former President was awake and they exchanged “hi and hello”.
Lambino also said a petition was
filed in the Sandiganbayan to defer the arraignment of Arroyo on Monday.
“The filing came before the
decision of VMMC doctors to bring her to the ICU due to a heart disease and we
could not be accused of making up her sickness,” Lambino said.
Former first gentleman Mike
Arroyo has been monitoring the health of his wife, according to his lawyer,
Ferdie Topacio.
“FG (first gentleman) is set to
see her today (Friday),” Topacio added.
Arroyo went through
electrocardiogram tests on Wednesday and Thursday and the results showed she
was suffering from coronary ischemia, or diminished blood flow to the heart.
“We have to monitor her
constantly at the ICU, which has doctors and nurses 24/7,” Legaspi said.
Under such a condition, Arroyo,
who is facing nonbailable charges of plunder in the graft court Sandiganbayan
for the alleged misuse of P356 million in lottery intelligence funds from 2008
to 2010, is likely to be under hospital arrest.
The court has ordered her
arrested, but deferred ruling on where to hold her until her doctors can
determine the true state of her health.
Arroyo had been held at
VMMC until July, when a Pasay City court allowed her to post bail
for an electoral sabotage case brought
against her by the Commission on Elections
and the Department of Justice in November last year.
She was readmitted in the
hospital on Thursday last week, suffering from pains and numbness caused by a
rare spine ailment.
Blockage
As of Friday, Legaspi said,
doctors assumed that the ischemia was caused by a possible blockage or
metabolic processes.
“We are assuming that it is a
blockage, this is why we are acting with urgency and not with complacency. You
cannot leave her alone like that,” Legaspi said.
Legaspi could not say if Arroyo
would be able to attend her arraignment in the Sandiganbayan on Monday.
Arroyo remained hooked to an
intravenous drip yesterday as treatment for hypokalemia, or low serum potassium
levels in the blood, which Legaspi said was vital to the body’s overall
wellness.
Earlier this week, Arroyo
complained of chest pains, prompting her doctors to put her through ECG tests.
The results showed the ischemia
and left ventricular enlargement, which Legaspi said was an effect of
hypertension.
Legaspi said Arroyo’s ischemia
could have been caused by intense stress.
Arroyo will go through blood
enzyme tests, 2D echo and stress 2D echo tests in the coming days, Legaspi
said.
The 2D echo and stress 2D echo
tests will be carried out in another hospital, possibly the Philippine Heart
Center, Legaspi said.
Permission from the Sandiganbayan
will be needed for Arroyo’s trip to take the tests, Legaspi said.
Doctors will continue to examine
Arroyo to determine what is really causing the ischemia, Legaspi said.
Left untreated, coronary ischemia
could lead to a heart attack, she added.
Very thin
Legaspi said Arroyo was “very
thin,” probably caused by dehydration, which had been remedied.
Policemen guard the VMMC
intensive care unit to secure Arroyo.
If she would be moved to a
regular jail, Legaspi said the detention center should have hospital equipment
for monitoring the former President’s condition.
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