President Pranab Mukherjee recovering after angioplasty at Army hospital

New Delhi, Dec 14: President Pranab Mukherjee was on Sunday recovering well after undergoing a heart procedure at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital where doctors installed a coronary stent in his artery to remove a blockage.

The coronary angioplasty was conducted on Mukherjee, 79, yesterday at the hospital after he was admitted there with stomach problems and related ailments.

"Grateful for all the thoughts, wishes and prayers for my good health; I have recovered and am hoping to return to work soon," the official Twitter handle of the President said today.

When contacted, Press Secretary Venu Rajamony said, "The President is recovering fast and we hope to see him back soon."

After being admitted yesterday, doctors at the hospital put him under observation for various tests during which they detected a blockage in one of the arteries.

The doctors conducted angioplasty and installed a stent, a small mesh tube that's used to treat narrow or weak arteries.

Coronary angioplasty is a procedure used to open blocked or narrowed coronary (heart) arteries.

The procedure improves blood flow to the heart muscle.

PTI